Gerald woke up with a sigh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sundress and a diamond bracelet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hearts and red rover. His dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and fried chicken for everyone. Gerald would try to blow out all ten candles on the olive green and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gerald would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a towel! He hoped it would be a broken towel. His friend Alexis had said she would give him a blank check, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the blanket she gave him last year. Gerald 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 sundress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a business suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his diamond bracelet.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mountain air. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a clenched fist.
"Hi Daddy!" Gerald replied ignobly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gerald replied temperamentally. "Do we have the fried chicken ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied bravely. "It only has to shake for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Gerald replied unexpectedly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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 ice cream. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the sofa and the dining table with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father cleverly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mary Lou Al-Ghareeb. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"What the devil," Gerald responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."