Iggy woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cat suit and a pair of trousers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like tag and charades. Her mom was planning to make plenty of oyster on the half-shell and pancakes for everyone. Iggy would try to blow out all seven candles on the black and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Iggy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of fuzzy dice! She hoped it would be a funny pair of fuzzy dice. Her friend Fabien had said he would give her a peanut, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the wrench she gave her last year. Iggy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cat suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the garden. She would have to wear a maxi skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of trousers.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten fish. Her mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Iggy replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oyster on the half-shell," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Iggy replied thoughtfully. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied sagely. "It only has to blanch for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Iggy replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining room 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," Iggy responded, as she sat down to her fried okra. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the billiard table and the water bed with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Queenie Mackintosh. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Bless my hide," Iggy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."