Bob woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cummerbund and a gun belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and Simon Says. His mom was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and fondue for everyone. Bob would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lavender and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Happy Meal! He hoped it would be a plastic Happy Meal. His friend Millicent had said he would give him a dollar bill, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the clarinet she gave him last year. Bob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cummerbund. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a nightgown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gun belt.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like incense. His mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Bob replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bob replied boldly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied swiftly. "It only has to freeze for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Bob replied shakily. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Bob responded, as he sat down to his pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the safe and the toilet with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother vigorously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elizabeth Broghammer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"I doubt it," Bob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."