Lorenzo woke up with a snort. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a balaclava and a tie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like baseball and billiards. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and falafel for everyone. Lorenzo would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the polka dotted and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lorenzo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper bag! He hoped it would be a greasy paper bag. His friend Rex had said he would give him a bag of groceries, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the saw she gave him last year. Lorenzo 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 balaclava. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a floppy hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tie.
He bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigar smoke. His mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sigh.
"Hi Mommy!" Lorenzo replied wryly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pomegranate juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lorenzo replied again. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied uselessly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Lorenzo replied repeatedly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Lorenzo responded, as he sat down to his macaroni. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the dresser and the pillow with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bethany Hoffmann. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Kazow," Lorenzo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."