Jacques woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tool belt and a pocket watch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like roulette and ring around the rosie. His mom was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and tacos for everyone. Jacques would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the sea green and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jacques would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cracker! He hoped it would be an aromatic cracker. His friend Mason had said he would give him a backpack, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the charm she gave him last year. Jacques could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tool belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a pair of pantaloons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pocket watch.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh coffee. His mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cringe.
"Hi Mommy!" Jacques replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra orange peel. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jacques replied hopelessly. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied gleefully. "It only has to age for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Jacques replied cautiously. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Jacques responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the stool and the nightstand with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother crossly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Millie Corialis. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat," Jacques responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."