Gilbert woke up with a gurgle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of toe shoes and a toga. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like jacks and pool. His mom was planning to make plenty of beef bouillon and pumpkin pie for everyone. Gilbert would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the amber and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gilbert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rope! He hoped it would be a rough rope. His friend Freddie had said he would give him a spool of thread, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the toilet seat she gave him last year. Gilbert 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 pair of toe shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a fez instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his toga.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. His mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Gilbert replied mysteriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beef bouillon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra stuffed green olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gilbert replied glibly. "Do we have the pumpkin pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied nonchalantly. "It only has to sauté for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Gilbert replied cleverly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some waffles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Gilbert responded, as he sat down to his waffles. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the canopy bed with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carrie Petrov. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Brrr," Gilbert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."