Buster woke up with a hiccup. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a winter coat and a ski mask. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like volleyball and treasure hunt. His mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Buster would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the ivory and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Buster would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pipe! He hoped it would be a wooden pipe. His friend Bub had said he would give him a fountain pen, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the fork she gave him last year. Buster could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his winter coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a sweatshirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ski mask.
He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Listerine. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a dope slap.
"Hi Mommy!" Buster replied languidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork chops. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Buster replied noisily. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied sweetly. "It only has to sauté for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Buster replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Buster responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the end table and the washstand with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Martha Magnusson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat," Buster responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."