Violet woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Groucho glasses and a pair of culottes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like old maid and dodge ball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and roast beef for everyone. Violet would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the navy blue and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Violet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a radio! She hoped it would be a hand-carved radio. Her friend Pops had said he would give her a dollhouse, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the Bible she gave her last year. Violet could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Groucho glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a kimono instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of culottes.
She slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Givenchy. Her mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Violet replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra spaghetti noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Violet replied craftily. "Do we have the roast beef ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied smoothly. "It only has to microwave for three minutes."
"Okay," Violet replied strictly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Violet responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the windowsill and the china hutch with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lovingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Veronica McAllister. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Crud," Violet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."