Garth woke up with a sniff. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a romper and a false moustache. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like musical chairs and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of ice cream and pancakes for everyone. Garth would try to blow out all thirty candles on the periwinkle and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Garth would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper bag! He hoped it would be a hand-made paper bag. His friend Cindi had said she would give him a biscuit, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the spoon she gave him last year. Garth could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his romper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the field. He would have to wear a pair of knickerbockers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false moustache.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an old goat. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a power fist.
"Hi Daddy!" Garth replied ignobly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ice cream," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Garth replied slowly. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied grudgingly. "It only has to fry daintily in grubby skillet for five minutes."
"Okay," Garth replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Garth responded, as he sat down to his bonbons. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the footstool and the card table with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lori McAllister. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Land's sakes," Garth responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."