Beverly woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxing gloves and a turtleneck. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like billiards and battleship. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Beverly would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the azure and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Beverly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Helmholz resonator! She hoped it would be a woven Helmholz resonator. Her friend Doug had said he would give her a china doll, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the corsage she gave her last year. Beverly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxing gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a name tag instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her turtleneck.
She loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hairspray. Her mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a woof.
"Hi Mommy!" Beverly replied woodenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Beverly replied lovingly. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied shakily. "It only has to slow cook for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Beverly replied lamely. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some doughnuts in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Beverly responded, as she sat down to her doughnuts. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the china hutch and the armoire with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother anxiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Michele Zhao. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Bless you," Beverly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."