Bronk woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a polo shirt and a denim skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Candy Land and ring around the rosie. His mom was planning to make plenty of hot dogs and doughnuts for everyone. Bronk would try to blow out all thirty candles on the terra cotta and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bronk would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! He hoped it would be a colossal barbell. His friend Guido had said he would give him a necklace, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the tube of glue she gave him last year. Bronk could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his polo shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hill. He would have to wear a mask instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his denim skirt.
He sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cackle.
"Hi Mommy!" Bronk replied lovingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hot dogs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bronk replied stupidly. "Do we have the doughnuts ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied lamely. "It only has to sear outside for eight minutes."
"Okay," Bronk replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Bronk responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the piano and the stairway with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother tearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Deena Mancini. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Incredible," Bronk responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."