Donnie Bob woke up with a belch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a floppy hat and a dress. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jump rope and solitaire. His dad was planning to make plenty of prime rib and lobster for everyone. Donnie Bob would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lavender and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Donnie Bob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of ice! He hoped it would be a smumpy bag of ice. His friend Riley had said she would give him a primrose, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave him last year. Donnie Bob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his floppy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the savanna. He would have to wear a pair of moccasins instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his dress.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a cringe.
"Hi Daddy!" Donnie Bob replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prime rib," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Donnie Bob replied slowly. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied charmingly. "It only has to microwave for forty-one minutes."
"Okay," Donnie Bob replied sorrowfully. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard room 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," Donnie Bob responded, as he sat down to his fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the chair and the bar stool with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Martina Walker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Uh-oh," Donnie Bob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."