Horst woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a negligee and a sarong. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tennis and roulette. His mom was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and pancakes for everyone. Horst would try to blow out all six candles on the carrot-orange and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Horst would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toilet seat! He hoped it would be a hideous toilet seat. His friend Hugh had said he would give him a pepper grinder, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the bat she gave him last year. Horst could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his negligee. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a pair of heels instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sarong.
He skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tacos. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Horst replied glumly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parsley. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Horst replied despondently. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied deftly. "It only has to freeze for five minutes."
"Okay," Horst replied cunningly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Horst responded, as he sat down to his lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the settee and the floor with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother proudly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, May Milenski. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Uh-huh," Horst responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."