Martina woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jacket and a toupee. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like dodge ball and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and fried eggs for everyone. Martina would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lime-green and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Martina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a photograph! She hoped it would be a plain photograph. Her friend Doc had said he would give her a Hostess Ding Dong, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the stamp she gave her last year. Martina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the arroyo. She would have to wear a sundress instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her toupee.
She dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pipe tobacco. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sigh.
"Hi Mommy!" Martina replied gleefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped onions. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Martina replied gleefully. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied pitifully. "It only has to fry boldly in ragged skillet for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Martina replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining room 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," Martina responded, as she sat down to her fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the coat rack with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother woodenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Patricia Tuckerman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Outstanding," Martina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a woof. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."