Bettie Lou woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bicycle helmet and a sweatshirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Simon Says and billiards. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and oatmeal for everyone. Bettie Lou would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the carrot-orange and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bettie Lou would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pop bottle! She hoped it would be a wet pop bottle. Her friend Malcolm had said he would give her a Barbie doll, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the flashlight she gave her last year. Bettie Lou could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bicycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mesa. She would have to wear a set of dentures instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sweatshirt.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Juicy Fruit gum. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a tear.
"Hi Mommy!" Bettie Lou replied nicely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bettie Lou replied suspiciously. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied warily. "It only has to melt for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Bettie Lou replied craftily. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Bettie Lou responded, as she sat down to her ham. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the hope chest and the canopy bed with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lucy Rutherford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Cowabunga," Bettie Lou responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."