Gunther woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cowboy hat and a pacifier. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like seven-up and tag. His mom was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and mushroom quiche for everyone. Gunther would try to blow out all five candles on the chartreuse and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gunther would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mop! He hoped it would be a worn mop. His friend Kim had said he would give him a pain pill, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the tablet computer she gave him last year. Gunther could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cowboy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a pair of UGGs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pacifier.
He paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pizza. His mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Mommy!" Gunther replied wryly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple slices. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gunther replied frantically. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied offhandedly. "It only has to blanch for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Gunther replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Gunther responded, as he sat down to his candy. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the settee and the safe with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Samantha Weiss. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Well," Gunther responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."