Morris woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of braces and a party hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like crazy eights and Mother May I. His mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Morris would try to blow out all eight candles on the amber and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Morris would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hair dryer! He hoped it would be a loose hair dryer. His friend Bosco had said he would give him an ashtray, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the pipe she gave him last year. Morris 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 set of braces. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the canyon. He would have to wear a uniform instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his party hat.
He strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like basil. His mom was standing there with a mixing spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shiver.
"Hi Mommy!" Morris replied carefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra boneless chicken breast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Morris replied automatically. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied sharply. "It only has to fry grimly in primitive skillet for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Morris replied despondently. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chopped liver in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Morris responded, as he sat down to his chopped liver. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the pillow with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hastily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bettie Lou Watts. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Eureka," Morris responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."