Rebecca woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hoodie and a beanie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and solitaire. Her mom was planning to make plenty of banana split and corn on the cob for everyone. Rebecca would try to blow out all five candles on the violet and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rebecca would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an orange! She hoped it would be a hand-painted orange. Her friend Anders had said he would give her a flower, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the Helmholz resonator she gave her last year. Rebecca could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hoodie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a bathrobe instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beanie.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. Her mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Rebecca replied lazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovy. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rebecca replied sorrowfully. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied peevishly. "It only has to boil for sixty-four minutes."
"Okay," Rebecca replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Rebecca responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the washing machine and the rocking chair with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chelsea Owens. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Amen," Rebecca responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."