Beatrice woke up with a smack. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Stetson hat and a pair of earrings. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and dominos. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ham and waffles for everyone. Beatrice would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the terra cotta and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Beatrice would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a necklace! She hoped it would be an electric necklace. Her friend Erwin had said he would give her a corsage, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the football she gave her last year. Beatrice could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Stetson hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the bog. She would have to wear a pair of overalls instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of earrings.
She waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a candle shop. Her mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a honk.
"Hi Mommy!" Beatrice replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Beatrice replied neatly. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied frantically. "It only has to marinate for ten minutes."
"Okay," Beatrice replied obediently. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode 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," Beatrice responded, as she sat down to her pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the coffee table and the bookcase with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Erica Champion. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Um," Beatrice responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."