Bethany woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of culottes and a bedsheet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like follow the leader and battleship. Her mom was planning to make plenty of shrimp and egg salad sandwich for everyone. Bethany would try to blow out all four candles on the emerald green and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bethany would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a grease gun! She hoped it would be a charming grease gun. Her friend Quint had said he would give her a Frisbee, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the toothbrush she gave her last year. Bethany could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a nightgown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bedsheet.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Bethany replied nimbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra flour. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bethany replied sarcastically. "Do we have the egg salad sandwich ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied truculently. "It only has to spread into container for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Bethany replied gracefully. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Bethany responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the catbird seat with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother carelessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Azalea Slade. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Spiff," Bethany responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."