Emmeline woke up with a chuckle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a burqa and a pair of heels. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like chess and tennis. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast beef and macaroni for everyone. Emmeline would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the blue and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Emmeline would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pinwheel! She hoped it would be a narrow pinwheel. Her friend Melvin had said he would give her a crutch, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the snail she gave her last year. Emmeline 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 burqa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cave. She would have to wear a set of braces instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of heels.
She skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheese. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Emmeline replied resignedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh basil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Emmeline replied fearfully. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied sympathetically. "It only has to simmer for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Emmeline replied neatly. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Emmeline responded, as she sat down to her chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the desk and the armoire with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother recklessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Olivia Looper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"I beg your pardon," Emmeline 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."