André woke up with a wince. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a veil and a pair of briefs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like trivia and follow the leader. His mom was planning to make plenty of macaroni and burritos for everyone. André would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the terra cotta and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, André would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! He hoped it would be a bizarre barbell. His friend Royce had said he would give him a helmet, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the rope she gave him last year. André could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his veil. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a belt buckle instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of briefs.
He bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like oregano. His mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a chortle.
"Hi Mommy!" André replied repeatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," André replied solemnly. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied slyly. "It only has to sauté for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," André replied peevishly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," André responded, as he sat down to his tacos. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the desk and the workbench with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother cunningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Velma Walla. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Thpft," André responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."