Donnie Bob woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a birthday suit and a tailcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like marbles and dodge ball. His dad was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and refried beans for everyone. Donnie Bob would try to blow out all eleven candles on the rose and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Donnie Bob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flowerpot! He hoped it would be a hand-made flowerpot. His friend Thelma had said she would give him a pop bottle, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the photograph she gave him last year. Donnie Bob 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 birthday suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the island. He would have to wear a pair of heels instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tailcoat.
He zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Yves Saint Laurent. His dad was standing there with an oven mitt in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wince.
"Hi Daddy!" Donnie Bob replied blindly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra white beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Donnie Bob replied nicely. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied viciously. "It only has to sear outside for sixty-four minutes."
"Okay," Donnie Bob replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Donnie Bob responded, as he sat down to his pretzels. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the footstool and the bench with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cassandra Hudson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Mommy," Donnie Bob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."