Audrey woke up with a sneeze. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pacifier and a bracelet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like roulette and shuffleboard. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and waffles for everyone. Audrey would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the jet black and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Audrey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bottle of perfume! She hoped it would be an autographed bottle of perfume. Her friend Gabriel had said he would give her a bird feeder, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the pop bottle she gave her last year. Audrey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a tie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bracelet.
She careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotting meat. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Audrey replied happily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovy. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Audrey replied boldly. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied greedily. "It only has to broil for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Audrey replied menacingly. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prime rib 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," Audrey responded, as she sat down to her prime rib. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the chair with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother jokingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Maggie Green. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Kazow," Audrey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."