Jamie woke up with a woof. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hood and a motorcycle helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Cootie and Parcheesi. His dad was planning to make plenty of pizza and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Jamie would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the salmon and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jamie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a grease gun! He hoped it would be a fabulous grease gun. His friend Fawn had said she would give him an air compressor, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave him last year. Jamie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his hood. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a nose ring instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his motorcycle helmet.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Elizabeth Arden. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a caress.
"Hi Daddy!" Jamie replied crankily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pizza," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pimientos. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jamie replied courageously. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied bitterly. "It only has to shake for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Jamie replied energetically. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Jamie responded, as he sat down to his cornbread. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the bathtub and the couch with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ella MacIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Dadgum," Jamie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."