Luis woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a motorcycle helmet and a dirndl. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jump rope and musical chairs. His mom was planning to make plenty of tofu and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Luis would try to blow out all five candles on the emerald green and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Luis would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pinwheel! He hoped it would be a brittle pinwheel. His friend Millicent had said he would give him a box, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the paper towel she gave him last year. Luis could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his motorcycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the outback. He would have to wear a honeybee costume instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his dirndl.
He sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate cake. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Luis replied energetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tofu," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork rinds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Luis replied again. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied hastily. "It only has to heat for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Luis replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Luis responded, as he sat down to his mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the windowsill and the china cabinet with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marcy Whiteside. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Not so fast," Luis responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."