Nadine woke up with a bound. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a fedora and a suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Monopoly and leapfrog. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and country glazed ham for everyone. Nadine would try to blow out all four candles on the black and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nadine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ashtray! She hoped it would be a luxurious ashtray. Her friend Wilbur had said he would give her a clothespin, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the rose she gave her last year. Nadine could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her fedora. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the pasture. She would have to wear a sarong instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her suit.
She paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Nadine replied crankily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nadine replied frenetically. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied awkwardly. "It only has to boil for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Nadine replied lazily. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Nadine responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the workbench and the canopy bed with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother vacantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Libby Briggs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Stoked," Nadine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."