Mackenzie woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a baseball cap and a beanie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery 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 Russian roulette and Mother May I. Her mom was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and pot roast for everyone. Mackenzie would try to blow out all ten candles on the orange and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mackenzie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stone! She hoped it would be a sleek stone. Her friend Knuckles had said he would give her a feather duster, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the cardboard box she gave her last year. Mackenzie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her baseball cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountain. She would have to wear a scarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beanie.
She slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a gurgle.
"Hi Mommy!" Mackenzie replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra rum. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mackenzie replied sourly. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied violently. "It only has to grill for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Mackenzie replied deftly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Mackenzie responded, as she sat down to her tacos. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the sofa and the coffee table with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother woodenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Victoria Pythagoras. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Gee whillikers," Mackenzie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."