Giovanni woke up with a hug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a party hat and a gorilla suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like pool and Mother May I. His mom was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and borscht for everyone. Giovanni would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the grey and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Giovanni would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cigarette! He hoped it would be a crude cigarette. His friend Calvin had said he would give him a spider, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the yardstick she gave him last year. Giovanni could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his party hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a fig leaf instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gorilla suit.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. His mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pout.
"Hi Mommy!" Giovanni replied primly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra orange peel. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Giovanni replied ingeniously. "Do we have the borscht ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied timidly. "It only has to arrange for six minutes."
"Okay," Giovanni replied nervously. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master 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," Giovanni responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the wardrobe and the chest of drawers with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gilda Daniels. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"@#%#^@%$@!," Giovanni responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."