Gerald woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of moon boots and an overcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like chess and treasure hunt. His dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and omelet for everyone. Gerald would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the metallic red and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gerald would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sea shell! He hoped it would be an ornate sea shell. His friend Jessi had said she would give him a smart phone, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the bag of potato chips she gave him last year. Gerald could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of moon boots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the steppe. He would have to wear a bathrobe instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his overcoat.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a flush.
"Hi Daddy!" Gerald replied solemnly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gerald replied ingeniously. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied quietly. "It only has to boil for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Gerald replied majestically. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hot dogs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard room 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," Gerald responded, as he sat down to his hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the table and the carpet with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dubiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Betty Gustafson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Alright," Gerald responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."