Zoe woke up with a wink. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a T-shirt and a ring. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like blackjack and Cootie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and corn on the cob for everyone. Zoe would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the black and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Zoe would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a business card! She hoped it would be an art deco business card. Her friend Herb had said he would give her a stick of gum, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the piece of chalk she gave her last year. Zoe could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her T-shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a baseball cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her ring.
She proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baby lotion. Her mom was standing there with a meat thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sneer.
"Hi Mommy!" Zoe replied deftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground cumin. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Zoe replied slowly. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied tearfully. "It only has to fry openly in spongy skillet for eighty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Zoe replied victoriously. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli 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," Zoe responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the dining table and the buffet with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother blissfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Josephine Mars. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Blah," Zoe responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."