James woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a stethoscope and a pair of contact lenses. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like volleyball and pool. His dad was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and blueberry pie for everyone. James would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the green and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, James would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPod! He hoped it would be an immense iPod. His friend Marya had said she would give him an iPhone, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the gun she gave him last year. James could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his stethoscope. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a tailcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of contact lenses.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. His dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a sneeze.
"Hi Daddy!" James replied hopelessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra shortening. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," James replied timidly. "Do we have the blueberry pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied lovingly. "It only has to age for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," James replied strictly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prune pudding in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," James responded, as he sat down to his prune pudding. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the card table and the hatstand with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Anastasia Welles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Woof," James responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."