Gilbert woke up with a sigh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sport coat and a skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like jacks and Mother May I. His mom was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and jambalaya for everyone. Gilbert would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the indigo and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gilbert would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a statue! He hoped it would be a narrow statue. His friend Stephen had said he would give him a tissue, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the key she gave him last year. Gilbert could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dumpster. He would have to wear a sarong instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his skirt.
He strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a pig. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Gilbert replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped chives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gilbert replied oddly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied frantically. "It only has to heat in microwave for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Gilbert replied despondently. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tuna casserole in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Gilbert responded, as he sat down to his tuna casserole. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the wine rack and the washing machine with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nakisha Ostrander. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Unreal," Gilbert responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."