José woke up with a sneeze. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a belly button jewel and a wig. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Mother May I and Rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and sushi for everyone. José would try to blow out all six candles on the turquoise and magenta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, José would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pop bottle! He hoped it would be a coarse pop bottle. His friend Hallie had said she would give him a fish bowl, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the coin she gave him last year. José could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a pair of glasses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his wig.
He tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten potatoes. His dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" José replied ruefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ketchup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," José replied proudly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied positively. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for seven minutes."
"Okay," José replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," José responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the nightstand and the washing machine with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sleepily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sophie Rutherford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"I beg your pardon," José responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."