Luann woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hoop skirt and an apron. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like red light green light and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of mulligan stew and hamburgers for everyone. Luann would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the periwinkle and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Luann would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a screwdriver! She hoped it would be a crusty screwdriver. Her friend Adrian had said he would give her a pair of headphones, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the oriental vase she gave her last year. Luann could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hoop skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hayfield. She would have to wear a toga instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her apron.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coffee. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a power fist.
"Hi Mommy!" Luann replied automatically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mulligan stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet pickle relish. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Luann replied coldly. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied recklessly. "It only has to fry swiftly in burned skillet for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Luann replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Luann responded, as she sat down to her chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the rocking chair and the cupboard with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Midge Rutherford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Meh," Luann responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."