Guido woke up with a belch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fig leaf and a vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like bridge and roulette. His mom was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and sushi for everyone. Guido would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the tan and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Guido would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper towel! He hoped it would be a rare paper towel. His friend Michaelangelo had said he would give him a pair of binoculars, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the Barbie doll she gave him last year. Guido could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his fig leaf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a gas mask instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his vest.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like old books. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Guido replied cunningly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bean sprouts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Guido replied shakily. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied proudly. "It only has to sauté for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Guido replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chopped liver in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard 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," Guido responded, as he sat down to his chopped liver. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the wardrobe and the hope chest with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother coolly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jolene Boudreaux. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Uh," Guido responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."