Wayne woke up with a woof. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a feather boa and a letter jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Simon Says. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and beef bouillon for everyone. Wayne would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the beige and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wayne would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cotton ball! He hoped it would be a hand-carved cotton ball. His friend Yancey had said he would give him a jar of olives, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the plaque she gave him last year. Wayne could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his feather boa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a set of dentures instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his letter jacket.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moldy leftovers. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Wayne replied innocently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple cider. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wayne replied wryly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied bravely. "It only has to microwave for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Wayne replied sharply. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Wayne responded, as he sat down to his lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the bed and the windowsill with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother shakily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kathy Harris. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Good grief," Wayne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."