Abigail woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a straitjacket and a surgical mask. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like tag and roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and crab rangoon for everyone. Abigail would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the sea green and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Abigail would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a kite! She hoped it would be a rare kite. Her friend Julian had said he would give her a remote control, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the cork she gave her last year. Abigail could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her straitjacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a uniform instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her surgical mask.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sigh.
"Hi Mommy!" Abigail replied quietly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted cherries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Abigail replied doubtfully. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied woefully. "It only has to arrange for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Abigail replied silently. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Abigail responded, as she sat down to her tofu. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the casket and the china cabinet with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother primly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Celia Stewart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"I'll drink to that," Abigail responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."