Jesus woke up with a sneeze. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a false moustache and a veil. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like jump rope and red rover. His mom was planning to make plenty of succotash and tacos for everyone. Jesus would try to blow out all four candles on the peach and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jesus would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a smart phone! He hoped it would be a fuzzy smart phone. His friend Alexander had said he would give him a baton, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the Rubik's cube she gave him last year. Jesus could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his false moustache. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the savanna. He would have to wear a romper instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his veil.
He bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mango. His mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a sniffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Jesus replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jesus replied offhandedly. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied reluctantly. "It only has to broil for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Jesus replied shyly. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ceviche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Jesus responded, as he sat down to his ceviche. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the computer and the china cabinet with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother ignobly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mabel Burner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"If only," Jesus responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."