Gavin woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like bridge and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and Swiss cheese for everyone. Gavin would try to blow out all nine candles on the beige and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gavin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a feather! He hoped it would be a dry feather. His friend Tara had said she would give him a water bottle, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the book she gave him last year. Gavin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his T-shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a tarboosh instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of cargo pants.
He strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Gavin replied hungrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Italian sausage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gavin replied nicely. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied calmly. "It only has to poach lightly for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Gavin replied cleverly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Gavin responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the catbird seat and the crib with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father immediately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mandy Ortmann. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Fiddlesticks," Gavin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."