Kathryn woke up with a pucker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of camo fatigues and a black armband. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Simon Says and charades. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Kathryn would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the metallic red and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kathryn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hot potato! She hoped it would be a stolen hot potato. Her friend Ace had said he would give her a business card, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the daisy she gave her last year. Kathryn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her set of camo fatigues. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a tie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her black armband.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a pot of stew. Her mom was standing there with a garlic press in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Kathryn replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peeled carrots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kathryn replied resignedly. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied tensely. "It only has to fry truculently in ornate skillet for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Kathryn replied crazily. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front 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," Kathryn responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the cupboard and the chair with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Connie Holt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Ay caramba," Kathryn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."