Kitten woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dirndl and a necklace. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Cootie and checkers. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and apple pie for everyone. Kitten would try to blow out all eight candles on the turquoise and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kitten would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brochure! She hoped it would be an imported brochure. Her friend Waldo had said he would give her a rock, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave her last year. Kitten 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 dirndl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a diamond bracelet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her necklace.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ginger. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Kitten replied tearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Jello. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kitten replied humbly. "Do we have the apple pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied gruffly. "It only has to shake for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Kitten replied victoriously. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining room 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," Kitten responded, as she sat down to her mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the hammock and the washstand with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother deftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nakisha Quinn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"At last," Kitten responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."