Jodene woke up with a shiver. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a G-string and a turtleneck. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed 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 marbles and golf. Her mom was planning to make plenty of tortillas and borscht for everyone. Jodene would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the chocolate brown and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jodene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed kitten! She hoped it would be a speckled stuffed kitten. Her friend Victor had said he would give her a calling card, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the arrowhead she gave her last year. Jodene 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 G-string. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a diamond bracelet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her turtleneck.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like caramel corn. Her mom was standing there with a meat thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sneeze.
"Hi Mommy!" Jodene replied properly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jodene replied sympathetically. "Do we have the borscht ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied cruelly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for forty-one minutes."
"Okay," Jodene replied boldly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Jodene responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the cushion with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Andie Weatherford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Malarkey," Jodene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."