Leroy woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a parka and a pair of bloomers. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like jacks and hide and seek. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and sauerkraut for everyone. Leroy would try to blow out all twenty candles on the camouflage and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leroy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dog biscuit! He hoped it would be a hand-painted dog biscuit. His friend Hoss had said he would give him a toothbrush, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the dog biscuit she gave him last year. Leroy 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 parka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a surgical mask instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of bloomers.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moth balls. His mom was standing there with an oven mitt in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Leroy replied numbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanut butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leroy replied suddenly. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied lamely. "It only has to sear for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Leroy replied dolefully. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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 Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the pool table and the mattress with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, LaDonna McCray. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Hot dog," Leroy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."