René 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 bomber jacket and a cardigan. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Candy Land and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of oyster on the half-shell and egg drop soup for everyone. René would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the rose and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, René would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a notepad! He hoped it would be a porcelain notepad. His friend Guy had said he would give him a mousetrap, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the backpack she gave him last year. René could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bomber jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear a sport coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cardigan.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a snigger.
"Hi Mommy!" René replied victoriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oyster on the half-shell," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra wasabi powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," René replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied silently. "It only has to blend for twelve minutes."
"Okay," René replied blissfully. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some potatoes and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard room 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," René responded, as he sat down to his potatoes and gravy. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the sofa and the china hutch with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother blindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jody Abrams. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Doggone," René responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."