Griselda woke up with a snicker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of dungarees and a hood. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like checkers and roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and burritos for everyone. Griselda would try to blow out all nine candles on the purple and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Griselda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! She hoped it would be a fluffy bowl. Her friend Stephen had said he would give her a Happy Meal, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave her last year. Griselda could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of dungarees. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a hair net instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hood.
She crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Yves Saint Laurent. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hiccup.
"Hi Mommy!" Griselda replied wearily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra seedless grapes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Griselda replied cautiously. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied threateningly. "It only has to sear for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Griselda replied trustingly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Griselda responded, as she sat down to her oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the recliner and the toilet with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother valiantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Riley Diaz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Caramba," Griselda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."