Morrie woke up with a squint. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tam o'shanter and a diamond necklace. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like chess and crazy eights. His mom was planning to make plenty of applesauce and burritos for everyone. Morrie would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the golden and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Morrie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a button! He hoped it would be an old button. His friend Sanjay had said he would give him a flower, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the pair of overalls she gave him last year. Morrie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tam o'shanter. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a pair of booties instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his diamond necklace.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like autumn leaves. His mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Morrie replied shyly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the applesauce," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mussels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Morrie replied confidently. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied blissfully. "It only has to fry for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Morrie replied tensely. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"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 den 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," Morrie responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the end table and the nightstand with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Krystal Meyer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Geez Louise," Morrie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."