Reynaldo woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a big smile and a babushka. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like backgammon and croquet. His mom was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Reynaldo would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the turquoise and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Reynaldo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a computer! He hoped it would be a speckled computer. His friend Morrie had said he would give him a needle and thread, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the urn she gave him last year. Reynaldo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his big smile. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the jungle. He would have to wear a tailcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his babushka.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a chocolate factory. His mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Reynaldo replied recklessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mayonnaise. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Reynaldo replied later. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied accidentally. "It only has to blend for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Reynaldo replied admiringly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some waffles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Reynaldo responded, as he sat down to his waffles. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the wooden crate and the dining table with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Roberta Oldfather. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Yay," Reynaldo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."