Jake woke up with a jeer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a belly button jewel and a fur coat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Simon Says and Monopoly. His mom was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and egg drop soup for everyone. Jake would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the pink and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jake would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! He hoped it would be a sophisticated barbell. His friend Waldo had said he would give him a magnet, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the pickle she gave him last year. Jake could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the desert. He would have to wear a feather boa instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fur coat.
He danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a sardine cannery. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Jake replied openly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potato flakes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jake replied speedily. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied energetically. "It only has to spoon into container for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Jake replied angrily. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Jake responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the sofa with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother numbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Rosa Flake. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Shame," Jake responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."