Luis woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pacifier and a pair of nylons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Mother May I and musical chairs. His mom was planning to make plenty of banana split and roast turkey for everyone. Luis would try to blow out all thirty candles on the green and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Luis would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! He hoped it would be a chic spoon. His friend Benjamin had said he would give him an ingot of plutonium, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the blank check she gave him last year. Luis could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plain. He would have to wear a pair of pajamas instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of nylons.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Luis replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vegetable broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Luis replied brashly. "Do we have the roast turkey ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied fiercely. "It only has to whirl for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Luis replied diligently. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ceviche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Luis responded, as he sat down to his ceviche. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the safe and the washstand with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother again. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sharice Jude. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Shoo," Luis responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."