Sanjay woke up with a guffaw. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of pajamas and a sweater. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like marbles and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and beef bouillon for everyone. Sanjay would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the salmon and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sanjay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a radio! He hoped it would be a new radio. His friend Boots had said he would give him an antenna, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the purse she gave him last year. Sanjay could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of pajamas. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassy knoll. He would have to wear a pair of Reeboks instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sweater.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. His mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Sanjay replied resignedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra crabmeat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sanjay replied resignedly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied flightily. "It only has to melt for ten minutes."
"Okay," Sanjay replied firmly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Sanjay responded, as he sat down to his moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the china hutch and the ottoman with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Irma Chesney. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Knock me over with a feather," Sanjay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."