Roxie woke up with a roar. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Bermuda shorts and a pair of culottes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like marbles and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and sauerkraut for everyone. Roxie would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the olive drab and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roxie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a snail! She hoped it would be a damp snail. Her friend Siggy had said he would give her a saddle, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the mousetrap she gave her last year. Roxie 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 pair of Bermuda shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the bog. She would have to wear a coat of mail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of culottes.
She sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barnyard. Her mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Roxie replied fearlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roxie replied queerly. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied sympathetically. "It only has to grill for fifty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Roxie replied oddly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Roxie responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the cash register and the cupboard with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Roberta Queens. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Woohoo," Roxie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a furrowed brow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."