Holly woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bra and a necktie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like dominos and duck duck goose. Her mom was planning to make plenty of prime rib and crumb cake for everyone. Holly would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the aquamarine and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Holly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dictionary! She hoped it would be a new dictionary. Her friend Steve had said he would give her a biscuit, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the stuffed bunny she gave her last year. Holly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bra. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the battlefield. She would have to wear a pair of pantaloons instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her necktie.
She paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like new mown hay. Her mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Holly replied sleepily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prime rib," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped chives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Holly replied strangely. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied hungrily. "It only has to mix fiercely for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Holly replied nicely. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Holly responded, as she sat down to her chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the toilet and the umbrella stand with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother daintily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Coleen Lizard. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Par bleu," Holly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."