Briget woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of overalls and a pair of Reeboks. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like croquet and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and falafel for everyone. Briget would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the striped and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Briget would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed bunny! She hoped it would be a dusty stuffed bunny. Her friend Dave had said he would give her a pot, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the basket she gave her last year. Briget could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of overalls. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the neighborhood. She would have to wear a denim skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Reeboks.
She sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoked fish. Her mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hiccup.
"Hi Mommy!" Briget replied fondly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra bamboo shoots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Briget replied glibly. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied resignedly. "It only has to smoke for eight minutes."
"Okay," Briget replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lamb curry in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Briget responded, as she sat down to her lamb curry. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the canopy bed with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother energetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Belle Manning. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Alright," Briget responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."