Martina woke up with a sigh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a skirt and a bow tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and pot roast for everyone. Martina would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the violet and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Martina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Barbie doll! She hoped it would be a gigantic Barbie doll. Her friend Reynaldo had said he would give her a bird bath, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the toy she gave her last year. Martina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the glen. She would have to wear a set of football pads instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bow tie.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Martina replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salsa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Martina replied gratefully. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied rapidly. "It only has to fry for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Martina replied suddenly. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Martina responded, as she sat down to her bonbons. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the ironing board and the chair with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother ruefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Deborah Okara. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Nonsense," Martina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raspberry. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."