Latrina woke up with a kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a locket and a gown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like croquet and battleship. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and egg rolls for everyone. Latrina would try to blow out all three candles on the silver and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Latrina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tennis racket! She hoped it would be a crooked tennis racket. Her friend Ollie had said he would give her a curling iron, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the fish she gave her last year. Latrina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale 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 seacoast. She would have to wear a flour sack instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gown.
She sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snigger.
"Hi Mommy!" Latrina replied lamely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery seed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Latrina replied unabashedly. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied openly. "It only has to blanch for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Latrina replied temperamentally. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Latrina responded, as she sat down to her lobster. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the umbrella stand with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother reluctantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Xenia Bing. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Anyhow," Latrina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."