Isaac woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a skirt and a cloak. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Russian roulette and poker. His mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and enchiladas for everyone. Isaac would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the maroon and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Isaac would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a china doll! He hoped it would be a musty china doll. His friend Arnold had said he would give him a coloring book, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the vase she gave him last year. Isaac could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a false moustache instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cloak.
He sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like farts. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flush.
"Hi Mommy!" Isaac replied boldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis, peeled and sliced. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Isaac replied dolefully. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied shakily. "It only has to toast for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Isaac replied offhandedly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dry toast 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," Isaac responded, as he sat down to his dry toast. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the piano with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother diligently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Pallavi Falcone. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Heavens to murgatroyd," Isaac 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."