Gunther woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ring and a tie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like dodge ball and jacks. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and mulligan stew for everyone. Gunther would try to blow out all two candles on the magenta and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gunther would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spinning wheel! He hoped it would be a coarse spinning wheel. His friend Elly had said she would give him an iPhone, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the dart she gave him last year. Gunther could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a sport coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tie.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like carnations. His dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Gunther replied wearily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bananas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gunther replied suspiciously. "Do we have the mulligan stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied grandly. "It only has to freeze for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Gunther replied daringly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Gunther responded, as he sat down to his cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the wine rack and the cupboard with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father briskly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Rhoda Giddings. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Holy minerva," Gunther responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."