Ruth woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxer shorts and a wig. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Simon Says and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and banana split for everyone. Ruth would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the pea green and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ruth would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! She hoped it would be a brittle key ring. Her friend Aristotle had said he would give her a radio, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the blazer she gave her last year. Ruth could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxer shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a pair of tights instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wig.
She skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a gurgle.
"Hi Mommy!" Ruth replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra strawberries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ruth replied uneasily. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied zestily. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Ruth replied cheerfully. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Ruth responded, as she sat down to her chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the credenza and the dishwasher with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother merrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Nettie Haddad. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"I'm so sure," Ruth responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."