Millie woke up with a finger gun. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gun belt and a pair of bloomers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like poker and rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Hamburger Helper and hot dogs for everyone. Millie would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the ivory and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Millie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cookie! She hoped it would be a handy cookie. Her friend Arthur had said he would give her a shovel, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the stuffed kitten she gave her last year. Millie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear a burqa instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bloomers.
She pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chocolate. Her mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a guffaw.
"Hi Mommy!" Millie replied tenderly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Hamburger Helper," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra blue cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Millie replied sharply. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied gratefully. "It only has to melt for eighty-four minutes."
"Okay," Millie replied reluctantly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Millie responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the file cabinet and the catbird seat with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Katherine Rice. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Good grief," Millie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wag of the finger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."