Barnabas woke up with a blush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of moon boots and a stethoscope. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tag and shuffleboard. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and sushi for everyone. Barnabas would try to blow out all twenty candles on the amber and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Barnabas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tissue! He hoped it would be a rough tissue. His friend Jeremy had said he would give him a piece of candy, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the napkin she gave him last year. Barnabas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of moon boots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the rainforest. He would have to wear a bonnet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stethoscope.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. His mom was standing there with a garlic press in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Barnabas replied violently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped onions. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Barnabas replied bitterly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied hopefully. "It only has to heat for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Barnabas replied delicately. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Barnabas responded, as he sat down to his Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the ottoman and the bench with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother quickly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Joan Bibbles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Woohoo," Barnabas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."