Joshua woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond bracelet and a fez. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like blackjack and doctor. His mom was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and ceviche for everyone. Joshua would try to blow out all ten candles on the silver and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joshua would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bible! He hoped it would be a magnificent Bible. His friend Muerto had said he would give him a wrench, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the flag she gave him last year. Joshua could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountainside. He would have to wear a hearing aid instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fez.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stable. His mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sneer.
"Hi Mommy!" Joshua replied charmingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mussels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joshua replied automatically. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied brightly. "It only has to spoon into container for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Joshua replied hysterically. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Hamburger Helper 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," Joshua responded, as he sat down to his Hamburger Helper. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the hope chest and the canopy bed with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother wearily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Azalea Ott. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Silence," Joshua responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."