Stacy woke up with a pout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of culottes and a fedora. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like leapfrog and billiards. Her mom was planning to make plenty of apple pie and succotash for everyone. Stacy would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the burgundy and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stacy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hockey puck! She hoped it would be a delicate hockey puck. Her friend Cody had said he would give her a corncob, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the spool of thread she gave her last year. Stacy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a shawl instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fedora.
She scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Listerine. Her mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a simper.
"Hi Mommy!" Stacy replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Hershey Bar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stacy replied languidly. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied viciously. "It only has to whirl for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Stacy replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese 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," Stacy responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the wine rack and the dining table with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother again. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Winnie Abrams. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Woohoo," Stacy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."