Andrew woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a badge and a suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Rummy. His mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and chicken soup for everyone. Andrew would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the ivory and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Andrew would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pearl! He hoped it would be an immense pearl. His friend Milo had said he would give him an umbrella, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the toilet plunger she gave him last year. Andrew could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his badge. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a vest instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his suit.
He ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Andrew replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweetened condensed milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Andrew replied anxiously. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied noisily. "It only has to slow cook for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Andrew replied calmly. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Andrew responded, as he sat down to his bonbons. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the card table and the washing machine with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother strictly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Samina Marchetti. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Ssss," Andrew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wag of the finger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."