Violet woke up with a bow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a kilt and an evening gown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like rummy and follow the leader. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fondue and scrambled eggs for everyone. Violet would try to blow out all seven candles on the red and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Violet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ping-pong paddle! She hoped it would be a polka-dotted ping-pong paddle. Her friend Jürgen had said he would give her a needle and thread, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave her last year. Violet could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her kilt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a loincloth instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her evening gown.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. Her mom was standing there with a mixing spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Violet replied tenderly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cottage cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Violet replied trustingly. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied surreptitiously. "It only has to simmer for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Violet replied bitterly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Violet responded, as she sat down to her egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the table and the pool table with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother frenetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Madison Scoville. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Woops," Violet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."