Ma and Otis were singing to me.“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to YOU!” My eyes shot open and Ma and Otis both started tickling me at the same time.“Quit it!” I choked, rolling up into a ball. Ma was after my stomach, while Otis tickled the back of my neck. “Quit it!” I howled. “You’re going to make me wet the bed!” Otis backed off, holding his nose.“Eeew! A thirteen-year-old bed wetter!”“I didn’t say that I had wet the bed,” I grumbled, tossing my legs over the side. The sun through the window was bright. I was already sweating. But I was glad that it wasn’t raining. “I said I would wet the bed if you didn’t stop tickling me.”“Go to the john then, sweetie,” Ma said. Her brown eyes sparkled. I hadn’t seen her look so happy in a while. “We just wanted to wake you up with a big ‘happy birthday,’ ” she said.“Thanks,” I said, grinning sheepishly. I hobbled toward the door. “But first things first.”Fortunately, the bathroom was empty.
