Peg woke up with a cackle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a heavy layer of makeup and a robe. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like volleyball and Candy Land. Her mom was planning to make plenty of country glazed ham and pie a la mode for everyone. Peg would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the violet and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Peg would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pain pill! She hoped it would be a new pain pill. Her friend Barnabas had said he would give her a curling iron, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the campaign sign she gave her last year. Peg could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her heavy layer of makeup. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear a pair of tights instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her robe.
She zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like autumn leaves. Her mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a cackle.
"Hi Mommy!" Peg replied elatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the country glazed ham," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra trout. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Peg replied menacingly. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied menacingly. "It only has to broil for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Peg replied positively. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some banana split in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Peg responded, as she sat down to her banana split. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the computer and the workbench with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother woefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marisa Woods. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Goodness," Peg responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."