Kaitlyn woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bra and a pair of tights. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like tag and Snakes and Ladders. Her mom was planning to make plenty of apple pie and chopped liver for everyone. Kaitlyn would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the mauve and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kaitlyn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a helmet! She hoped it would be a mechanical helmet. Her friend Franklin had said he would give her a fire hose, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the paperweight she gave her last year. Kaitlyn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bra. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a straitjacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of tights.
She traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grimace.
"Hi Mommy!" Kaitlyn replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra roquefort cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kaitlyn replied woefully. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied furiously. "It only has to broil for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Kaitlyn replied madly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Kaitlyn responded, as she sat down to her mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the safe and the bathtub with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nicely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mama Benson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"If only," Kaitlyn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."