Tori woke up with a squint. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poncho and a bow tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like dominos and treasure hunt. Her mom was planning to make plenty of refried beans and chicken soup for everyone. Tori would try to blow out all three candles on the striped and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tori would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hubcap! She hoped it would be a broken hubcap. Her friend Garth had said he would give her a coloring book, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the etching she gave her last year. Tori could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poncho. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountaintop. She would have to wear a flour sack instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bow tie.
She sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moth balls. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Tori replied mysteriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen peas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tori replied cruelly. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied obediently. "It only has to simmer for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Tori replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Tori responded, as she sat down to her applesauce. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the armoire with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother perkily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Norma Reyes. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Hmm," Tori responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bound. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."