Tammy woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cardigan and a pocket watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and hash for everyone. Tammy would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the sparkly and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tammy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crystal ball! She hoped it would be a papery crystal ball. Her friend Harley had said he would give her a spoon, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the cigarette she gave her last year. Tammy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cardigan. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear an Eton jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pocket watch.
She climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Tammy replied tearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra red lentils. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tammy replied madly. "Do we have the hash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied viciously. "It only has to sear for sixty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Tammy replied primly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Tammy responded, as she sat down to her apple pie. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the end table and the pedestal with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother properly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jasmine Schmuckley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Jeepers," Tammy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."