Gilbert woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a badge and a necklace. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like poker and Candy Land. His dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and omelet for everyone. Gilbert would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the brown and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gilbert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hacksaw! He hoped it would be an ornate hacksaw. His friend Terri had said she would give him a basket, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the grease gun she gave him last year. Gilbert 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 badge. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a cap instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his necklace.
He tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. His dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a tear.
"Hi Daddy!" Gilbert replied sympathetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gilbert replied uselessly. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied boldly. "It only has to blanch for nine minutes."
"Okay," Gilbert replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest room 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," Gilbert responded, as he sat down to his sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the chair and the safe with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Deena Eaton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Crud," Gilbert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."