Dylan woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of tights and a necktie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like baseball and pool. His mom was planning to make plenty of duck a l'orange and ravioli for everyone. Dylan would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the golden and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dylan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chess set! He hoped it would be a hollow chess set. His friend Mookie had said he would give him a Lego set, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the dollar bill she gave him last year. Dylan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of tights. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his necktie.
He tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like spearmint. His mom was standing there with a meat thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a titter.
"Hi Mommy!" Dylan replied oddly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the duck a l'orange," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra liver. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dylan replied firmly. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied jokingly. "It only has to boil for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Dylan replied queerly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Dylan responded, as he sat down to his sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the display case and the computer with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother brightly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kirsten Kling. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Dadgum," Dylan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."