Carrie woke up with a coo. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of pink foam curlers and a lab coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like dodge ball and duck duck goose. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fried okra and macaroni for everyone. Carrie would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the lime-green and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carrie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cell phone! She hoped it would be a hand-carved cell phone. Her friend Greg had said he would give her a bird cage, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the wrench she gave her last year. Carrie 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 set of pink foam curlers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a bicycle helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her lab coat.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Lancôme. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Carrie replied frenetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carrie replied numbly. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied lightly. "It only has to blanch for eight minutes."
"Okay," Carrie replied brashly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Carrie responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the rocking chair and the china cabinet with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hephzibah Loring. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Doggone," Carrie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."