Josh woke up with a snigger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of false eyelashes and a pair of flip-flops. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like marbles and Snakes and Ladders. His mom was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and blueberry pie for everyone. Josh would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the burgundy and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Josh would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an elephant tusk! He hoped it would be a spongy elephant tusk. His friend Harley had said he would give him a rubber stamp, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the crate she gave him last year. Josh could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of false eyelashes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of flip-flops.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pizza. His mom was standing there with an oven mitt in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Josh replied crossly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra beef broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Josh replied perkily. "Do we have the blueberry pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied hungrily. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Josh replied tensely. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Josh responded, as he sat down to his macaroni. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the pedestal and the TV with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mim André. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Piffle," Josh responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smirk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."