Gilmo woke up with a snicker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wedding dress and a helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like musical chairs and Mother May I. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Gilmo would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the rose and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gilmo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag! He hoped it would be a queer bag. His friend Gertrude had said she would give him a piece of paper, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the dog collar she gave him last year. Gilmo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wedding dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the jungle. He would have to wear a suit of armor instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his helmet.
He hopped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh coffee. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a cringe.
"Hi Daddy!" Gilmo replied confidently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gilmo replied suavely. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied fondly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Gilmo replied automatically. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg salad sandwich 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Gilmo responded, as he sat down to his egg salad sandwich. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the casket and the crib with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father unnaturally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elliott Buffalo. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Alack," Gilmo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."