Bill woke up with a crow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like doctor and seven-up. His mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and ham for everyone. Bill would try to blow out all six candles on the olive green and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bill would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bottle of perfume! He hoped it would be an automatic bottle of perfume. His friend Alf had said he would give him a hot potato, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the statue she gave him last year. Bill could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the jungle. He would have to wear a nightgown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jacket.
He pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chinese food. His mom was standing there with a potato masher in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Bill replied briskly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bill replied lazily. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied craftily. "It only has to roast for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Bill replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pizza in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Bill responded, as he sat down to his pizza. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the catbird seat and the footstool with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, So-Yeng Law. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Retch," Bill responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."