Vinny woke up with a cackle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bib and a uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and red rover. His mom was planning to make plenty of ham and mashed potatoes for everyone. Vinny would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the lavender and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vinny would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chair! He hoped it would be a bulky chair. His friend Carlton had said he would give him a tube of glue, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the radio she gave him last year. Vinny 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 bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the briar patch. He would have to wear a pair of boxer shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his uniform.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheese. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Vinny replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra roquefort cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vinny replied elatedly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied victoriously. "It only has to fry pitifully in puzzling skillet for sixty-four minutes."
"Okay," Vinny replied irritably. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Vinny responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the armoire and the pillow with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother ruefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vanessa Stoltenburg. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Aaaw," Vinny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a clenched fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."