Jimmy woke up with a tear. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a garland and an apron. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like badminton and hopscotch. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and Cheerios for everyone. Jimmy would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the emerald green and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jimmy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shovel! He hoped it would be an unusual shovel. His friend Derek had said he would give him a can of soup, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the pair of dice she gave him last year. Jimmy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his garland. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the buffalo wallow. He would have to wear a cheerleader's uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his apron.
He zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like biscuits. His mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Jimmy replied timidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jimmy replied zestily. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied silently. "It only has to braise for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Jimmy replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some burritos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Jimmy responded, as he sat down to his burritos. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the bunk bed and the credenza with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Christine Glidden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Zounds," Jimmy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."