Scarlett woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a wet suit and a pair of socks. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like chess and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of succotash and fried okra for everyone. Scarlett would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the yellow and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Scarlett would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tube of toothpaste! She hoped it would be a shiny tube of toothpaste. Her friend Chum had said he would give her an oriental vase, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the fishhook she gave her last year. Scarlett 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 wet suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the circus tent. She would have to wear a dirndl instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of socks.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like June roses. Her mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pout.
"Hi Mommy!" Scarlett replied frenetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sesame seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Scarlett replied deliberately. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied dolorously. "It only has to spread into container for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Scarlett replied grandly. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Scarlett responded, as she sat down to her enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the bookshelf and the windowsill with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother angrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mama Hoffa. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Weird," Scarlett 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."