Violet woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pocket watch and a kimono. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Mother May I and chess. Her mom was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and fried eggs for everyone. Violet would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the lime-green and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Violet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a beach ball! She hoped it would be a torn beach ball. Her friend Wallace had said he would give her a bottle of perfume, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the piece of candy she gave her last year. Violet 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 pocket watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the marsh. She would have to wear a bicycle helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her kimono.
She hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like natural gas. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Violet replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potato chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Violet replied later. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied furiously. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Violet replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies 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," Violet responded, as she sat down to her brownies. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the futon and the crib with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kristi André. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Chirp," Violet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."