Reba woke up with a curtsey. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxer shorts and a pair of khakis. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like crazy eights and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of refried beans and lobster for everyone. Reba would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the silver and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Reba would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dart! She hoped it would be a porcelain dart. Her friend Freddie had said he would give her a bird cage, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the duffel bag she gave her last year. Reba could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxer shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a blanket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of khakis.
She padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange blossoms. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Reba replied effortlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Reba replied peevishly. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied automatically. "It only has to slow cook for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Reba replied testily. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Reba responded, as she sat down to her ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the coat rack and the bench with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother again. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Charlotte Snigglefritz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Puppy biscuits," Reba responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."