Kaitlyn woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a party hat and a wristwatch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like croquet and tennis. Her mom was planning to make plenty of mulligan stew and mushroom quiche for everyone. Kaitlyn would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the jet black and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kaitlyn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of shaving cream! She hoped it would be a mechanical can of shaving cream. Her friend Bruce had said he would give her a fishing rod, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the crystal ball she gave her last year. Kaitlyn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her party hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a blouse instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wristwatch.
She strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a rose garden. Her mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snicker.
"Hi Mommy!" Kaitlyn replied solemnly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mulligan stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork and beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kaitlyn replied fervently. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied caustically. "It only has to melt for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Kaitlyn replied caustically. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Kaitlyn responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the dining table and the piano with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother slowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Marisa Ping. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Yipes," Kaitlyn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."