Monica woke up with a tear. 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 pair of knickerbockers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like checkers and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and squash blossom soup for everyone. Monica would try to blow out all five candles on the olive green and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Monica would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! She hoped it would be a fluffy spoon. Her friend Walt had said he would give her a Hostess Ding Dong, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the conga she gave her last year. Monica could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day 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 badlands area. She would have to wear a pair of culottes instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of knickerbockers.
She lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hairspray. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snort.
"Hi Mommy!" Monica replied elatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Monica replied violently. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied sharply. "It only has to slow cook for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Monica replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Monica responded, as she sat down to her chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the cash register and the pedestal with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sagely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Juanita Brooke. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Eureka," Monica responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."