Hilda woke up with a grimace. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of safety glasses and a pair of combat boots. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like golf and shuffleboard. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and pancakes for everyone. Hilda would try to blow out all nine candles on the green and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hilda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a lemon! She hoped it would be an authentic lemon. Her friend Howard had said he would give her a wrench, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the chart she gave her last year. Hilda 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 pair of safety glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a veil instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of combat boots.
She zipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fruit. Her mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a backward glance.
"Hi Mommy!" Hilda replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra macaroni. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hilda replied coolly. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied sleepily. "It only has to heat in microwave for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Hilda replied impatiently. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Hilda responded, as she sat down to her cabbage. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the table and the catbird seat with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lovingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chloe Springer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Eeshk," Hilda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."