José woke up with a guffaw. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tam o'shanter and a pair of shin guards. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like charades and hopscotch. His dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and sushi for everyone. José would try to blow out all twenty candles on the sea green and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, José would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flute! He hoped it would be a woven flute. His friend Queenie had said she would give him a Band-aid, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the box of Kleenex she gave him last year. José could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tam o'shanter. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a pair of nylons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shin guards.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Max Factor. His dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a cringe.
"Hi Daddy!" José replied greedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra nutmeg. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," José replied excitedly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied haughtily. "It only has to blanch for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," José replied crazily. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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 fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the pillow and the workbench with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father mysteriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Geraldine Hook. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Grody to the max," José responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."