Lynn woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a locket and a pair of shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fondue and beans for everyone. Lynn would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the peach and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lynn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spinning wheel! She hoped it would be a thick spinning wheel. Her friend Lucky had said he would give her a hair brush, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the baseball she gave her last year. Lynn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her locket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the crime scene. She would have to wear a pair of cargo pants instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shorts.
She waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Yves Saint Laurent. Her mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a beam.
"Hi Mommy!" Lynn replied properly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Italian sausage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lynn replied admiringly. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied lamely. "It only has to fry for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Lynn replied fondly. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Lynn responded, as she sat down to her chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the water bed and the canopy bed with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother neatly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Angie Anderson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Ten-four," Lynn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."