Bert woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gunny sack and a turtleneck. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like poker and Simon Says. His dad was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and roast turkey for everyone. Bert would try to blow out all four candles on the jet black and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a saw! He hoped it would be a musty saw. His friend Olive had said she would give him a corsage, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the elephant tusk she gave him last year. Bert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gunny sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a pocket watch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his turtleneck.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. His dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Bert replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra grated sharp cheddar cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bert replied cautiously. "Do we have the roast turkey ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied surreptitiously. "It only has to freeze for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Bert replied joyously. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Bert responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the desk with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father quickly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sandra Vintner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Begad," Bert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."