Jay woke up with a belch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a stethoscope and a pair of knickers. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Mother May I and tag. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and chicken chow mein for everyone. Jay would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the camouflage and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a statue! He hoped it would be a puzzling statue. His friend Edward had said he would give him a shoe, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the pair of cycling shorts she gave him last year. Jay could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his stethoscope. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a beret instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of knickers.
He marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly cut grass. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Jay replied uneasily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shelled pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jay replied deftly. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied nimbly. "It only has to sear for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Jay replied victoriously. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Jay responded, as he sat down to his popcorn. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the desk and the display case with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother languidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lynn Craven. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Lord be praised," Jay 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."