Horatio woke up with a pout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of tights and a gun belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like rummy and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and blueberry pie for everyone. Horatio would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the navy blue and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Horatio would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stick! He hoped it would be a hard stick. His friend Buck had said he would give him an iPhone, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the umbrella she gave him last year. Horatio could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of tights. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a pair of tights instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gun belt.
He scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mango. His mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sniffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Horatio replied crossly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Horatio replied languidly. "Do we have the blueberry pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied glumly. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Horatio replied lightly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mulligan stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Horatio responded, as he sat down to his mulligan stew. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the buffet and the four-poster bed with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sarcastically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Holly Bowe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Indeed," Horatio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."