Vera woke up with a raspberry. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a scarf and an apron. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like ring around the rosie and checkers. Her mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and Swiss cheese for everyone. Vera would try to blow out all nine candles on the amber and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vera would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pizza! She hoped it would be an ordinary pizza. Her friend Archie had said he would give her a basket, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the magnet she gave her last year. Vera could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her scarf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the housing development. She would have to wear a toupee instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her apron.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hamburgers. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Vera replied suavely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground cumin. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vera replied tearfully. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied properly. "It only has to spread into container for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Vera replied strangely. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"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 kitchen 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," Vera responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the bathtub and the ironing board with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Geraldine David. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"The joke's on me," Vera responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."