Ling woke up with a cackle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a stovepipe hat and a pair of moccasins. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like jacks and cribbage. Her mom was planning to make plenty of succotash and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Ling would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the orange and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ling would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! She hoped it would be a cardboard sponge. Her friend Jay had said he would give her a necklace, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the pepper grinder she gave her last year. Ling could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her stovepipe hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a sport coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of moccasins.
She proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigarette smoke. Her mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Ling replied clumsily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream style corn. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ling replied lamely. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied narrowly. "It only has to sauté for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Ling replied steadily. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Ling responded, as she sat down to her cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the footstool and the hammock with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother courteously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Angie Vickers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"My land," Ling responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."