Lucia woke up with a glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of bloomers and a baseball cap. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and musical chairs. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken gumbo and chicken gumbo for everyone. Lucia would try to blow out all twelve candles on the peach and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lucia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a candy bar! She hoped it would be an ornate candy bar. Her friend Vince had said he would give her an ashtray, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the sack of potatoes she gave her last year. Lucia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of bloomers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a set of braces instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her baseball cap.
She zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barnyard. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snigger.
"Hi Mommy!" Lucia replied trustingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken gumbo," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra tarragon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lucia replied reluctantly. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied calmly. "It only has to slow cook for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Lucia replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec room first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Lucia responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the workbench and the workbench with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Maria Frank. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Hurray," Lucia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."