Marv woke up with a backward glance. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a beach towel and an apron. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Candy Land and volleyball. His mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and steak for everyone. Marv would try to blow out all nine candles on the emerald green and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marv would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a daisy! He hoped it would be a rare daisy. His friend William had said he would give him a firecracker, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the purse she gave him last year. Marv could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his beach towel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the creek. He would have to wear a shawl instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his apron.
He clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Marv replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dry white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marv replied demurely. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied humbly. "It only has to age for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Marv replied shakily. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lamb curry 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," Marv responded, as he sat down to his lamb curry. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the billiard table and the canopy bed with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Brook Gonzalez. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"You don't say," Marv responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."