Russell woke up with a caress. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of shoes and a pair of pajamas. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Rummy and Cootie. His mom was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and Cheerios for everyone. Russell would try to blow out all three candles on the sparkly and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Russell would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a baseball! He hoped it would be an overgrown baseball. His friend Mikey had said he would give him a Happy Meal, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the key ring she gave him last year. Russell could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a pair of cycling shorts instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of pajamas.
He hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. His mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a backward glance.
"Hi Mommy!" Russell replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Russell replied smoothly. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied rapidly. "It only has to press for four minutes."
"Okay," Russell replied arrogantly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Russell responded, as he sat down to his omelet. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the rocking chair and the safe with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother boisterously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Beverly Tillerman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Shiver me timbers," Russell 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."