Gunther woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tam o'shanter and a pair of cargo pants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Russian roulette and duck duck goose. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and applesauce for everyone. Gunther would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the emerald green and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gunther would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of knitting needles! He hoped it would be a hollow pair of knitting needles. His friend Ichabod had said he would give him a needle and thread, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the chess set she gave him last year. Gunther could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tam o'shanter. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a hearing aid instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of cargo pants.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a new car. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Gunther replied caustically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gunther replied carefully. "Do we have the applesauce ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied nonchalantly. "It only has to microwave for twenty-five minutes."
"Okay," Gunther replied impatiently. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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 bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the bed and the pillow with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother nonchalantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bethany Vanderbilt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Roger," Gunther responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."