Jacob woke up with a snort. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fez and a bridal gown. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like croquet and Monopoly. His dad was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and tofu for everyone. Jacob would try to blow out all twelve candles on the polka dotted and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jacob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a yo-yo! He hoped it would be a thick yo-yo. His friend Wendy had said she would give him a bottle of painkillers, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the book she gave him last year. Jacob 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 fez. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a birthday suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bridal gown.
He tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotting meat. His dad was standing there with a potato masher in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a raspberry.
"Hi Daddy!" Jacob replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Canadian bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jacob replied defiantly. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied charmingly. "It only has to sear outside for eighty-one minutes."
"Okay," Jacob replied gratefully. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Jacob responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the computer and the hammock with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mama Dole. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Blimey," Jacob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."