Annalouise woke up with a caress. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a helmet and a pair of tights. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like hopscotch and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and ravioli for everyone. Annalouise would try to blow out all six candles on the orange and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Annalouise would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an oriental vase! She hoped it would be a smooth oriental vase. Her friend Bum had said he would give her a bird feeder, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the cupcake she gave her last year. Annalouise could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cesspool. She would have to wear a scarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of tights.
She barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mint. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snuffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Annalouise replied admiringly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream style corn. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Annalouise replied courteously. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied craftily. "It only has to melt for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Annalouise replied elatedly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some potatoes and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Annalouise responded, as she sat down to her potatoes and gravy. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the hatstand and the china hutch with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother positively. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mindy Drake. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Adios," Annalouise responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."