Lorenzo woke up with a pout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit of armor and a pair of suspenders. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tennis and Parcheesi. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and prime rib for everyone. Lorenzo would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the fuchsia and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lorenzo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a knitting needle! He hoped it would be an electronic knitting needle. His friend Dani had said she would give him a gladiator helmet, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the hot potato she gave him last year. Lorenzo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit of armor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a pocket watch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of suspenders.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast beef. His dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Lorenzo replied joyously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pears. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lorenzo replied brashly. "Do we have the prime rib ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied blissfully. "It only has to sauté for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Lorenzo replied truculently. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Lorenzo responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the canopy bed and the canopy bed with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father perkily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, So-Yeng Chopra. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Feh," Lorenzo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."