Thelma woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of galoshes and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like roulette and solitaire. Her mom was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and oatmeal for everyone. Thelma would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the white and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Thelma would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chamber pot! She hoped it would be a clean chamber pot. Her friend Rover had said he would give her a towel, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the brush she gave her last year. Thelma could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of galoshes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cave. She would have to wear a gunny sack instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bell-bottoms.
She galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly cut grass. Her mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a honk.
"Hi Mommy!" Thelma replied grandly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Thelma replied arrogantly. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied wearily. "It only has to age for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Thelma replied nimbly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Thelma responded, as she sat down to her omelet. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the nightstand and the file cabinet with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother resignedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mabel Zhao. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Land's sakes," Thelma responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."