Irving woke up with a cringe. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a jacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like follow the leader and croquet. His mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and burritos for everyone. Irving would try to blow out all eight candles on the yellow and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Irving would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPhone! He hoped it would be a wooden iPhone. His friend Vilmer had said he would give him a spinning wheel, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the biscuit she gave him last year. Irving could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the briar patch. He would have to wear a smartwatch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jacket.
He cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mildew. His mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Irving replied effortlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cayenne pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Irving replied crazily. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied unexpectedly. "It only has to marinate for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Irving replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Irving responded, as he sat down to his ravioli. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the credenza and the wardrobe with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kate Judd. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Too much," Irving responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."