Harriet woke up with an air kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sweater and a bowler hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like checkers and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and sauerkraut for everyone. Harriet would try to blow out all two candles on the forest green and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harriet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! She hoped it would be a used barbell. Her friend Mario had said he would give her a salt shaker, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the clock she gave her last year. Harriet could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sweater. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a pair of knickers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bowler hat.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like trouble. Her mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a roar.
"Hi Mommy!" Harriet replied numbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harriet replied blindly. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied sadly. "It only has to age for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Harriet replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Harriet responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the bookshelf and the sofa with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother ignobly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Yvonne Weber. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Geez Louise," Harriet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."