Norm woke up with a flush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cap and a pair of Bermuda shorts. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like jacks and checkers. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and lobster for everyone. Norm would try to blow out all seven candles on the lime-green and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Norm would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magazine! He hoped it would be a flaky magazine. His friend Pablo had said he would give him a whoopee cushion, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the pickle she gave him last year. Norm could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear an Armani suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of Bermuda shorts.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. His mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Norm replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra stuffed green olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Norm replied crossly. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied pitifully. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for nine minutes."
"Okay," Norm replied tensely. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Norm responded, as he sat down to his cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the rug and the bench with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother delicately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Nicole Cutler. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Dang it," Norm responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."