Doc woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jumpsuit and a pair of galoshes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like blackjack and tennis. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and egg drop soup for everyone. Doc would try to blow out all five candles on the lavender and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Doc would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a playing card! He hoped it would be a fuzzy playing card. His friend Cassandra had said she would give him an African violet, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the remote control she gave him last year. Doc 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 jumpsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the beach. He would have to wear a set of vampire fangs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of galoshes.
He sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. His dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Doc replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra grated sharp cheddar cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Doc replied sharply. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied majestically. "It only has to shake for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Doc replied later. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Doc responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the pedestal with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father hopefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lindsay Clemmons. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Freaky," Doc responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."