Bobby woke up with a caress. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gunny sack and a set of scrubs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like pool and crazy eights. His dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Bobby would try to blow out all six candles on the golden and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bobby would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a horseshoe! He hoped it would be a ragged horseshoe. His friend Nancy had said she would give him a top, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the key ring she gave him last year. Bobby could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gunny sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a cheetah costume instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of scrubs.
He bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like turpentine. His dad was standing there with an oven mitt in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a yawn.
"Hi Daddy!" Bobby replied warmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bobby replied madly. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied brashly. "It only has to heat in microwave for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Bobby replied busily. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Bobby responded, as he sat down to his apple pie. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the hope chest and the bench with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kim Stucky. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Big whoop," Bobby responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."