Mary woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of earmuffs and a class ring. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and seven-up. Her mom was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and hot dogs for everyone. Mary would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the chartreuse and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mary would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed bunny! She hoped it would be a fabulous stuffed bunny. Her friend Fabien had said he would give her a fishing rod, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the soccer ball she gave her last year. Mary 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 pair of earmuffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a blouse instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her class ring.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Mary replied swiftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mussels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mary replied suddenly. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied frenetically. "It only has to age for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Mary replied sagely. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Mary responded, as she sat down to her candy. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the hatstand and the casket with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother victoriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hilda Wooten. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Jeez," Mary responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."