Elliott woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a cocktail dress. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like old maid and charades. Her mom was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and ceviche for everyone. Elliott would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the forest green and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elliott would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magnifying glass! She hoped it would be a speckled magnifying glass. Her friend Dusty had said he would give her a pipe, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the feather duster she gave her last year. Elliott 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 headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a tool belt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cocktail dress.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. Her mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Elliott replied courteously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pinto beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elliott replied stupidly. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied vacantly. "It only has to broil for five minutes."
"Okay," Elliott replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Elliott responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the counter with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother woodenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tabitha Cohen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Wahoo," Elliott responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."