Tracy woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a burqa and a toga. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like poker and Simon Says. Her mom was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and mashed potatoes for everyone. Tracy would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the burgundy and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tracy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pipe! She hoped it would be a loose pipe. Her friend Ronald had said he would give her a calling card, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the ball she gave her last year. Tracy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her burqa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a mortarboard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her toga.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. Her mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Tracy replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tracy replied valiantly. "Do we have the mashed potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied woodenly. "It only has to sear for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Tracy replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Tracy responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the rocking chair with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lightly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Betty Stuart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Doubtful," Tracy 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."