Charlene woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a nightgown and a dirndl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like red rover and billiards. Her mom was planning to make plenty of bonbons and Swiss cheese for everyone. Charlene would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the emerald green and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Charlene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teddy bear! She hoped it would be a gruesome teddy bear. Her friend Humphrey had said he would give her a smart phone, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the hair brush she gave her last year. Charlene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her nightgown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the canyon. She would have to wear a wizard's hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dirndl.
She zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coconut. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Charlene replied later. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra maple syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Charlene replied thankfully. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied curiously. "It only has to place on serving dish for sixty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Charlene replied frantically. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Charlene responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the couch and the cash register with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother positively. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sharice Brunken. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Yikes," Charlene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."