Rosemary woke up with a snuffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a diamond necklace and a bodysuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and follow the leader. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Rosemary would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the mauve and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rosemary would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pickle! She hoped it would be a miniature pickle. Her friend Larry had said he would give her a piano, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the cork she gave her last year. Rosemary could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her diamond necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a beehive instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bodysuit.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mountain air. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with an air kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Rosemary replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rosemary replied briskly. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopefully. "It only has to arrange for forty-one minutes."
"Okay," Rosemary replied gleefully. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hot dogs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Rosemary responded, as she sat down to her hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the bookcase and the four-poster bed with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother hungrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nookie Harmon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Mother of peanut butter," Rosemary responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."