Arturo woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gunny sack and a pair of roller skates. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like cribbage and backgammon. His mom was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and brownies for everyone. Arturo would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the turquoise and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Arturo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bedpan! He hoped it would be a crude bedpan. His friend Rob had said he would give him a fishing pole, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the stapler she gave him last year. Arturo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gunny sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the jungle. He would have to wear a pair of briefs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of roller skates.
He lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. His mom was standing there with a mixing spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Arturo replied cunningly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Arturo replied patiently. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied crazily. "It only has to deep fry for five minutes."
"Okay," Arturo replied peevishly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oyster on the half-shell in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Arturo responded, as he sat down to his oyster on the half-shell. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the computer and the windowsill with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jennessa Yastremski. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Boy oh boy," Arturo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."