Jolene woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a big red rose and a headband. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like blackjack and Parcheesi. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and cornbread for everyone. Jolene would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the jade and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jolene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fountain pen! She hoped it would be a papery fountain pen. Her friend Ryan had said he would give her a cell phone, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the bag of ice she gave her last year. Jolene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her big red rose. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear a baseball cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her headband.
She stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like marijuana. Her mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a belch.
"Hi Mommy!" Jolene replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra half and half. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jolene replied brightly. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied solemnly. "It only has to sauté for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Jolene replied later. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Jolene responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the nightstand and the rug with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother later. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Deena Truman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Ugh," Jolene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."