Miguel woke up with a roar. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wedding dress and a scarf. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like dodge ball and roulette. His mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage and sweet potatoes for everyone. Miguel would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the carrot-orange and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Miguel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! He hoped it would be an amazing flag. His friend Draco had said he would give him a dollar bill, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the cigar she gave him last year. Miguel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his wedding dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a fedora instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his scarf.
He whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an outhouse. His mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with an air kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Miguel replied urgently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Miguel replied needlessly. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied effortlessly. "It only has to simmer for forty minutes."
"Okay," Miguel replied obediently. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster 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," Miguel responded, as he sat down to his lobster. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the wine rack and the crib with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother numbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Annalouise Downey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Woops," Miguel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."