Lillian woke up with a hoot. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beard and a bomber jacket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like old maid and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and roast Cornish game hen for everyone. Lillian would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lime-green and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a watering can! She hoped it would be an expensive watering can. Her friend Maloney had said he would give her a hockey puck, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the banana she gave her last year. Lillian could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her beard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountainside. She would have to wear a trench coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bomber jacket.
She hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Lillian replied dolorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mashed potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lillian replied violently. "Do we have the roast Cornish game hen ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied rapidly. "It only has to smoke for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Lillian replied irritably. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Lillian responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the water bed and the sofa with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother temperamentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bailey Poole. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Dang," Lillian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."