Evelyn woke up with a yawn. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of roller skates and a tinfoil hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like marbles and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of candy and pie a la mode for everyone. Evelyn would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the scarlet and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Evelyn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an abacus! She hoped it would be a gaudy abacus. Her friend Gabriel had said he would give her a baseball, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the candle she gave her last year. Evelyn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of roller skates. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a birthday suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tinfoil hat.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like basil. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smirk.
"Hi Mommy!" Evelyn replied warmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Evelyn replied shakily. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied craftily. "It only has to blend for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Evelyn replied needlessly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Evelyn responded, as she sat down to her French fries. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the recliner and the water bed with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother glibly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Elise Deutsch. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat," Evelyn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."