Midge woke up with a pucker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a space suit and a headband. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jump rope and dodge ball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and enchiladas for everyone. Midge would try to blow out all thirty candles on the indigo and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Midge would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! She hoped it would be a disgusting sponge. Her friend Willie had said he would give her a stamp, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the billfold she gave her last year. Midge could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her space suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the tundra. She would have to wear an airedale costume instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her headband.
She bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fried chicken. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Midge replied grimly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Midge replied sheepishly. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied fearlessly. "It only has to mix dubiously for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Midge replied silently. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chopped liver 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," Midge responded, as she sat down to her chopped liver. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the stool with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother haughtily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Geraldine Ashe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Freaky," Midge 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."