Joe woke up with a hug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jacket and a stovepipe hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like follow the leader and Simon Says. His mom was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Joe would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the forest green and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joe would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a helmet! He hoped it would be a synthetic helmet. His friend Edward had said he would give him an Egyptian mummy, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the pen she gave him last year. Joe could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a pair of cycling shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stovepipe hat.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sauerkraut. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Joe replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork and beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joe replied suddenly. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied shakily. "It only has to scramble for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Joe replied fervently. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mushroom quiche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Joe responded, as he sat down to his mushroom quiche. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the rug with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother frenetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susie Alden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Gotta love it," Joe responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."