Vivian woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of briefs and a cardigan. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like pool and dodge ball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Vivian would try to blow out all four candles on the lavender and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vivian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a wastebasket! She hoped it would be an excellent wastebasket. Her friend Reynaldo had said he would give her a crate, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the pipe she gave her last year. Vivian 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 pair of briefs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a set of vampire fangs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cardigan.
She jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. Her mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a chortle.
"Hi Mommy!" Vivian replied unabashedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vivian replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied miserably. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for three minutes."
"Okay," Vivian replied hungrily. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Vivian responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the hatstand and the washing machine with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother brightly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Louise Delgado. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Holy mackerel," Vivian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."