Francene woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bow tie and a pair of dungarees. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like musical chairs and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ceviche and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Francene would try to blow out all four candles on the golden and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a houseplant! She hoped it would be an ornate houseplant. Her friend Horsie had said he would give her a roll of toilet paper, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the playing card she gave her last year. Francene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bow tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the jungle. She would have to wear a turtleneck instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of dungarees.
She bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh-baked bread. Her mom was standing there with a mixing spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snuffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Francene replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ceviche," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mashed potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francene replied warily. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied grudgingly. "It only has to arrange for forty-one minutes."
"Okay," Francene replied steadily. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Francene responded, as she sat down to her hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the stool and the four-poster bed with sparkly crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Samantha McDiggles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Blast," Francene 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."