Louie woke up with a jeer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a polo shirt and a straitjacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like chess and shuffleboard. His mom was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and prune pudding for everyone. Louie would try to blow out all twelve candles on the emerald green and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Louie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a curling iron! He hoped it would be a plain curling iron. His friend Bart had said he would give him a microscope, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the peace pipe she gave him last year. Louie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his polo shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pasture. He would have to wear a shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his straitjacket.
He waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rubbing alcohol. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sneer.
"Hi Mommy!" Louie replied ferociously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra beer. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Louie replied gracefully. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied crossly. "It only has to marinate for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Louie replied thankfully. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Louie responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the toilet and the china cabinet with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother glumly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Isabella Boudreaux. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Ah," Louie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."