Jude woke up with a raspberry. 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 set of braces. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and mashed potatoes for everyone. Jude would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the pink and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jude would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coin! He hoped it would be a hand-painted coin. His friend Marty had said he would give him a calculator, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the advertisement she gave him last year. Jude 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 meadow. He would have to wear a bridal gown instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of braces.
He lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry pie. His mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Jude replied sorrowfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery seed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jude replied fearlessly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied majestically. "It only has to heat in microwave for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Jude replied merrily. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Jude responded, as he sat down to his jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the table and the couch with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother speedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Christine Halperin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Ahoy," Jude responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."