Minnie woke up with a cackle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a wristwatch and a cummerbund. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Candy Land and seven-up. Her mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Minnie would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the sparkly and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Minnie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an etching! She hoped it would be a clean etching. Her friend Eric had said he would give her a fishing rod, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the towel she gave her last year. Minnie 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 wristwatch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the meadow. She would have to wear a hood instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cummerbund.
She ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanuts. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a backward glance.
"Hi Mommy!" Minnie replied swiftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dark beer. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Minnie replied patiently. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied accidentally. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Minnie replied softly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some falafel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Minnie responded, as she sat down to her falafel. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the coat rack and the futon with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sourly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Liling Parker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Yo ho ho," Minnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smirk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."