Carl woke up with a snort. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a headscarf and a headband. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like marbles and jump rope. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and catfish stew for everyone. Carl would try to blow out all nine candles on the polka dotted and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carl would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishing rod! He hoped it would be a weird fishing rod. His friend Fabien had said he would give him a map, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the map she gave him last year. Carl could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his headscarf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a gladiator helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his headband.
He stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ginger. His mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Carl replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carl replied nimbly. "Do we have the catfish stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied warmly. "It only has to boil for twenty-five minutes."
"Okay," Carl replied bravely. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"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 bathroom 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," Carl responded, as he sat down to his jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the washing machine and the TV with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother humbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Helen Coons. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Huh," Carl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."