Hazel 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 pair of dungarees and a wet suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like dominos and Mother May I. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast beef and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Hazel would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the pink and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hazel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a watering can! She hoped it would be a chic watering can. Her friend Reginald had said he would give her a pot, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the mousetrap she gave her last year. Hazel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of dungarees. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the marsh. She would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wet suit.
She lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like liver and onions. Her mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a cringe.
"Hi Mommy!" Hazel replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra trout. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hazel replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied repeatedly. "It only has to grill for two minutes."
"Okay," Hazel replied joyously. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Hazel responded, as she sat down to her tortillas. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the ironing board and the sofa with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lindsay Looper. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Godspeed," Hazel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."