Beverly woke up with a backward glance. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a set of dentures. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and trivia. Her mom was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and bread and butter for everyone. Beverly would try to blow out all six candles on the magenta and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Beverly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an umbrella! She hoped it would be a hand-made umbrella. Her friend Fido had said he would give her a pepper grinder, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave her last year. Beverly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the circus tent. She would have to wear a pair of ear muffs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of dentures.
She dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hairspray. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Beverly replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra whale blubber. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Beverly replied crazily. "Do we have the bread and butter ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied speedily. "It only has to blend for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Beverly replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Beverly responded, as she sat down to her cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the carpet and the hatstand with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother unexpectedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Erica Fosbury. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Durn," Beverly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."