Nora woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pacifier and a pair of shoes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hearts and follow the leader. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and fried eggs for everyone. Nora would try to blow out all four candles on the striped and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nora would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! She hoped it would be an old bowl. Her friend Vilmer had said he would give her a sponge, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the hair brush she gave her last year. Nora could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shoes.
She jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sewage. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Nora replied charmingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra seedless grapes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nora replied wildly. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied nicely. "It only has to simmer for four minutes."
"Okay," Nora replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Nora responded, as she sat down to her applesauce. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the rocking chair and the wardrobe with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Georgina Peterson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Achoo," Nora responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."