Deborah woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a derby and a dress. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like red light green light and Mother May I. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pretzels and bonbons for everyone. Deborah would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the turquoise and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Deborah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a doily! She hoped it would be a hand-painted doily. Her friend Charles had said he would give her a cigarette, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the pair of headphones she gave her last year. Deborah 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 derby. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a derby instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dress.
She stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like strawberries. Her mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Deborah replied hopefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pretzels," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Deborah replied nervously. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied softly. "It only has to marinate for sixty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Deborah replied coldly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew 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," Deborah responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the dining table with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother quickly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katy Clooney. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Rooster feathers," Deborah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."