Sharon woke up with a simper. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a stethoscope and a beret. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Candy Land and checkers. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and beans for everyone. Sharon would try to blow out all seven candles on the green and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sharon would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bird feeder! She hoped it would be a bizarre bird feeder. Her friend Solomon had said he would give her a yo-yo, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the blanket she gave her last year. Sharon could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her stethoscope. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a hoodie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beret.
She ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast turkey. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with an air kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Sharon replied languidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sharon replied pitifully. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied testily. "It only has to smoke for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Sharon replied cruelly. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"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 master 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," Sharon responded, as she sat down to her oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the pool table and the bench with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hayley Van Bloom. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Hold your horses," Sharon responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."