Bosco woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of khakis and a bathrobe. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like croquet and dodge ball. His mom was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and corn on the cob for everyone. Bosco would try to blow out all nine candles on the sparkly and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bosco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a map! He hoped it would be a wooden map. His friend Casey had said he would give him a pencil sharpener, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the stapler she gave him last year. Bosco could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of khakis. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the oasis. He would have to wear a bolo tie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bathrobe.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like flowers. His mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a clenched fist.
"Hi Mommy!" Bosco replied speedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra roast beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bosco replied courageously. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied courageously. "It only has to shake for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Bosco replied gruffly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry 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," Bosco responded, as he sat down to his candy. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the mattress and the ironing board with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother slyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Vanessa Perkins. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Ho hum," Bosco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wink. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."