Terri woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Stetson hat and a coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like solitaire and musical chairs. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and candy for everyone. Terri would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the hot pink and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Terri would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hockey puck! She hoped it would be a gigantic hockey puck. Her friend Clem had said he would give her a can of beer, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the accordion she gave her last year. Terri could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Stetson hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a few imported rags instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coat.
She paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baby lotion. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Terri replied curiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra paprika. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Terri replied greedily. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied nimbly. "It only has to smoke for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Terri replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue 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," Terri responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the futon and the water bed with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother doubtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Clio Nakamura. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Feh," Terri responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."