Peg woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a big smile and a tailcoat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse 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 cribbage and volleyball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of steak and cotton candy for everyone. Peg would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lime-green and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Peg would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a comic book! She hoped it would be a small comic book. Her friend Kurt had said he would give her a baton, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the avocado she gave her last year. Peg could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her big smile. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the arroyo. She would have to wear a pair of panties instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tailcoat.
She padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snort.
"Hi Mommy!" Peg replied lamely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shelled pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Peg replied warily. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied bravely. "It only has to place on serving dish for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Peg replied irritably. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Peg responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the stool and the table with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother haughtily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carolyn Madison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Thpft," Peg responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."