Reynaldo woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of nylons and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like dodge ball and hide and seek. His mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage and jambalaya for everyone. Reynaldo would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the emerald green and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Reynaldo would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ashtray! He hoped it would be a cheap ashtray. His friend Ken had said he would give him a candle, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the bouquet she gave him last year. Reynaldo could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of nylons. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassland. He would have to wear a gunny sack instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of bell-bottoms.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Reynaldo replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg whites. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Reynaldo replied confidently. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied narrowly. "It only has to roast for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Reynaldo replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Reynaldo responded, as he sat down to his scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the hope chest and the toilet with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother furiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Zoe Barry. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Shame," Reynaldo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."