Lorie woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cloak and a raincoat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Clue and Scrabble. Her mom was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and lime sherbet for everyone. Lorie would try to blow out all thirty candles on the lavender and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lorie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bagpipe! She hoped it would be a mysterious bagpipe. Her friend Cody had said he would give her a bag of ice, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the yo-yo she gave her last year. Lorie 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 cloak. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her raincoat.
She careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Band-Aids. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a wink.
"Hi Mommy!" Lorie replied neatly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dry white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lorie replied elatedly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied uneasily. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Lorie replied sheepishly. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Lorie responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the bunk bed and the dishwasher with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Luann Arp. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Excuse me," Lorie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wink. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."