Marina 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 gun belt and a wizard's hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like pool and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lamb curry and omelet for everyone. Marina would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the turquoise and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a balloon! She hoped it would be a hideous balloon. Her friend Derek had said he would give her a paper bag, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the pencil she gave her last year. Marina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the trail. She would have to wear a locket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wizard's hat.
She bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fried chicken. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a bound.
"Hi Mommy!" Marina replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lamb curry," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marina replied stealthily. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied automatically. "It only has to age for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Marina replied vigorously. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Marina responded, as she sat down to her lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the ottoman and the counter with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother cunningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Joanie Quinn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Granular," Marina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."