Ricky woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a swimsuit and a stethoscope. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like pool and musical chairs. His mom was planning to make plenty of hash and roast beef for everyone. Ricky would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the beige and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ricky would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! He hoped it would be an excellent barbell. His friend Shamus had said he would give him a diary, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the cowbell she gave him last year. Ricky could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his swimsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the briar patch. He would have to wear a diaper instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stethoscope.
He bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a wet dog. His mom was standing there with a garlic press in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Ricky replied nimbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ricky replied gingerly. "Do we have the roast beef ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied defiantly. "It only has to grill for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Ricky replied slyly. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oyster on the half-shell in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Ricky responded, as he sat down to his oyster on the half-shell. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the futon and the ping-pong table with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Audra Gill. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Bless you," Ricky responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."