Zoe woke up with a snuffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of overalls and a G-string. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of succotash and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Zoe would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the white and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Zoe would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hip flask! She hoped it would be a greasy hip flask. Her friend Aiden had said he would give her a banana, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the paperweight she gave her last year. Zoe could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of overalls. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a pair of culottes instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her G-string.
She slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" Zoe replied bitterly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chicken. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Zoe replied softly. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied blankly. "It only has to sear outside for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Zoe replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tuna casserole in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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 tuna casserole. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the stool and the counter with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother strangely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Griselda Bower. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Hey," Zoe responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."