Jerry woke up with a woof. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cheerleader's uniform and a straitjacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hide and seek and ring around the rosie. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and mushroom quiche for everyone. Jerry would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the mauve and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jerry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shovel! He hoped it would be a gigantic shovel. His friend Penny had said she would give him a business card, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the bottle she gave him last year. Jerry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cheerleader's uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear a sweatshirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his straitjacket.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheese. His dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a hoot.
"Hi Daddy!" Jerry replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted cherries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jerry replied suspiciously. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied charmingly. "It only has to toast for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Jerry replied busily. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Jerry responded, as he sat down to his jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the cash register and the credenza with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father defiantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Doralene Briggs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Aarrggh," Jerry 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."