Nicole woke up with a wince. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sport coat and a cape. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like musical chairs and shuffleboard. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ice cream and enchiladas for everyone. Nicole would try to blow out all five candles on the black and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nicole would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a plaque! She hoped it would be a small plaque. Her friend Conner had said he would give her a bottle, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the pair of fuzzy dice she gave her last year. Nicole could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the stream. She would have to wear a cocktail dress instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cape.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a rose garden. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a fist bump.
"Hi Mommy!" Nicole replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ice cream," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra seedless grapes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nicole replied arrogantly. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied fearlessly. "It only has to arrange for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Nicole replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Nicole responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the rocking chair and the wardrobe with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tara Fodor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Good gravy," Nicole responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."