Magdalena woke up with a caress. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poncho and a wizard's hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like croquet and checkers. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and crab rangoon for everyone. Magdalena would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the red and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Magdalena would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a blanket! She hoped it would be a porcelain blanket. Her friend Randy had said he would give her a tube of toothpaste, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the pinwheel she gave her last year. Magdalena could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poncho. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a corset instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wizard's hat.
She hopped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ginger. Her mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a growl.
"Hi Mommy!" Magdalena replied lickety-split. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mayonnaise. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Magdalena replied delicately. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied pityingly. "It only has to steam for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Magdalena replied threateningly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some falafel 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," Magdalena responded, as she sat down to her falafel. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the dishwasher and the end table with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sarcastically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kayla Lee. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Crap," Magdalena 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."