José woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit and a belt buckle. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like musical chairs and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and bonbons for everyone. José would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the magenta and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, José would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! He hoped it would be an old spoon. His friend Jake had said he would give him a baseball bat, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the boomerang she gave him last year. José could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a motorcycle helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his belt buckle.
He blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fish. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a frown.
"Hi Mommy!" José replied pityingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," José replied slyly. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied cruelly. "It only has to heat in microwave for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," José replied shyly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," José responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the wooden crate and the canopy bed with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Candy Rexford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"If only," José responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."