Marilyn woke up with a cackle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bustier and a dirndl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like rummy and Parcheesi. Her mom was planning to make plenty of apple pie and Froot Loops for everyone. Marilyn would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the crimson and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marilyn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowling ball! She hoped it would be a greasy bowling ball. Her friend Lex had said he would give her a bouquet, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the artificial flower she gave her last year. Marilyn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bustier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a wet suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dirndl.
She waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pesto. Her mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Marilyn replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marilyn replied wryly. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied diligently. "It only has to sauté for three minutes."
"Okay," Marilyn replied dreamily. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Marilyn responded, as she sat down to her duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the counter and the couch with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother tensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elinor Burke. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Bullpuckey," Marilyn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."