Callie woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gladiator helmet and a beret. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like hopscotch and Snakes and Ladders. Her mom was planning to make plenty of candy and beans for everyone. Callie would try to blow out all six candles on the forest green and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Callie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beer! She hoped it would be a smumpy can of beer. Her friend Steven had said he would give her a radio, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the water bottle she gave her last year. Callie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gladiator helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a tarboosh instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beret.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. Her mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snuffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Callie replied stupidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Callie replied clumsily. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied viciously. "It only has to spoon into container for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Callie replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Callie responded, as she sat down to her lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the end table and the stairway with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sheila Tiller. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Sheesh," Callie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."