Gina woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a flak jacket and a fedora. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like doctor and musical chairs. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and cabbage rolls for everyone. Gina would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the chocolate brown and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a comb! She hoped it would be a fresh comb. Her friend White Cloud had said he would give her a cream puff, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the clam she gave her last year. Gina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her flak jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a midi skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fedora.
She capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Juicy Fruit gum. Her mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Gina replied boisterously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra blue cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gina replied nicely. "Do we have the cabbage rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied busily. "It only has to shake for eight minutes."
"Okay," Gina replied again. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Gina responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the bathtub and the washstand with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother madly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Shandra Beasley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Cool beans," Gina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."