Joanne woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a coat of mail and a derby. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and musical chairs. Her mom was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and ceviche for everyone. Joanne would try to blow out all nine candles on the burgundy and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joanne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shoe! She hoped it would be a torn shoe. Her friend Nicolas had said he would give her an apple, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the acorn she gave her last year. Joanne could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her coat of mail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a Speedo instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her derby.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cookies. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Joanne replied uselessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joanne replied sympathetically. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied primly. "It only has to marinate for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Joanne replied coldly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Joanne responded, as she sat down to her cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the cash register and the overstuffed chair with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gleefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marya Harper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Fantastic," Joanne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."