Morton woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Panama hat and an overcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like musical chairs and Monopoly. His mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and oatmeal for everyone. Morton would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the ivory and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Morton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of binoculars! He hoped it would be a slimy pair of binoculars. His friend Jeremy had said he would give him a Happy Meal, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the hip flask she gave him last year. Morton could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Panama hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the trail. He would have to wear a pair of trousers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his overcoat.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like leather. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Morton replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Morton replied needlessly. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied thankfully. "It only has to smoke for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Morton replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Morton responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the cushion and the stairway with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Izzy Sims. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Holy mackerel," Morton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."