Octavio woke up with a flutter. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a kilt and a turtleneck. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like roulette and billiards. His mom was planning to make plenty of hash and corn on the cob for everyone. Octavio would try to blow out all nine candles on the aqua and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Octavio would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pepper grinder! He hoped it would be a speckled pepper grinder. His friend Drover had said he would give him a clam, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the rubber chicken she gave him last year. Octavio could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his kilt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a Stetson hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his turtleneck.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. His mom was standing there with an oven mitt in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cackle.
"Hi Mommy!" Octavio replied reluctantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vinegar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Octavio replied shakily. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied dreamily. "It only has to grill for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Octavio replied fearfully. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Octavio responded, as he sat down to his scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the coffee table and the bathtub with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother warily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Babs Burtle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Aha," Octavio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."