Nestor woke up with an air kiss. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a watch and a pacifier. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and Mother May I. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast beef and cabbage for everyone. Nestor would try to blow out all seven candles on the amber and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nestor would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fountain pen! He hoped it would be a greasy fountain pen. His friend Jason had said he would give him a vacuum cleaner, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the mousetrap she gave him last year. Nestor could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a tie instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pacifier.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. His mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Nestor replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra almond paste. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nestor replied carelessly. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied caustically. "It only has to grill for seven minutes."
"Okay," Nestor replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Nestor responded, as he sat down to his enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the credenza and the bathtub with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susie McIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Swell," Nestor responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."