Azalea woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sport coat and a pacifier. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Clue and billiards. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and lasagna for everyone. Azalea would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the navy blue and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Azalea would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tube of glue! She hoped it would be a woven tube of glue. Her friend Chum had said he would give her a comic book, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the skull she gave her last year. Azalea could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a negligee instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pacifier.
She marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like success. Her mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a cackle.
"Hi Mommy!" Azalea replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork and beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Azalea replied nicely. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopefully. "It only has to place on serving dish for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Azalea replied strangely. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage 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," Azalea responded, as she sat down to her cabbage. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the settee and the end table with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother diligently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nookie Sarma. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Just a minute," Azalea responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."