Delores woke up with a belch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a blouse and a swimsuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like doctor and old maid. Her mom was planning to make plenty of dry toast and sauerkraut for everyone. Delores would try to blow out all four candles on the rose and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Delores would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pail! She hoped it would be a polished pail. Her friend Lance had said he would give her a cigarette, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the paper clip she gave her last year. Delores could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her blouse. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the marsh. She would have to wear a pair of cowboy boots instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her swimsuit.
She cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a roar.
"Hi Mommy!" Delores replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Delores replied patiently. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied woefully. "It only has to spread into container for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Delores replied dolefully. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Delores responded, as she sat down to her applesauce. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the hammock with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother softly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alberta Schmutzig. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Hey," Delores responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."