Peggy woke up with a death glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a false moustache. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like pool and hearts. Her mom was planning to make plenty of squash blossom soup and oatmeal for everyone. Peggy would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the violet and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Peggy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of Kleenex! She hoped it would be a multicolored box of Kleenex. Her friend Charles had said he would give her a tissue, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the beach ball she gave her last year. Peggy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a beret instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her false moustache.
She blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh coffee. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Peggy replied sourly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the squash blossom soup," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Peggy replied wildly. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied frenetically. "It only has to blanch for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Peggy replied ingeniously. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Peggy responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the floor and the toilet with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother thoughtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marilyn Badwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Woohoo," Peggy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."