Leroy woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shawl and a necklace. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like poker and Parcheesi. His mom was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and hot dogs for everyone. Leroy would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the aqua and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leroy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bone! He hoped it would be a stuffed bone. His friend Eddie had said he would give him a barbell, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the teacup she gave him last year. Leroy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a pith helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his necklace.
He lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pumpkin pie. His mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Leroy replied ingeniously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oatmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leroy replied rapidly. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied briskly. "It only has to marinate for two minutes."
"Okay," Leroy replied courageously. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Leroy responded, as he sat down to his fondue. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the pillow and the end table with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother blindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gina Fontanaro. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Yikes," Leroy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."