Virginia woke up with a guffaw. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gladiator helmet and a fig leaf. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like pool and tennis. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and burritos for everyone. Virginia would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the peach and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Virginia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hammer! She hoped it would be a delicate hammer. Her friend Papa had said he would give her a chamber pot, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the rubber chicken she gave her last year. Virginia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gladiator helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a pair of Groucho glasses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fig leaf.
She walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like something died. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flush.
"Hi Mommy!" Virginia replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Virginia replied hopelessly. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied suddenly. "It only has to melt for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Virginia replied frantically. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen 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," Virginia responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the casket and the bath mat with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vicki Pence. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Diddly bunk," Virginia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a blush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."