Hazel woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hoop skirt and a sweatshirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and ring around the rosie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sweet potatoes and cabbage rolls for everyone. Hazel would try to blow out all nine candles on the hot pink and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hazel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a towel! She hoped it would be a wooden towel. Her friend Cliff had said he would give her a bottle of perfume, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the knitting needle she gave her last year. Hazel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hoop skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a derby instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sweatshirt.
She stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nachos. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Hazel replied briskly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sweet potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra honey. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hazel replied uneasily. "Do we have the cabbage rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied boisterously. "It only has to fry nervously in puzzling skillet for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Hazel replied menacingly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Hazel responded, as she sat down to her lobster. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the hamper and the ping-pong table with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Roxie Sullivan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Never," Hazel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."