Gladys woke up with a dope slap. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gun belt and a fez. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Rummy and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and prime rib for everyone. Gladys would try to blow out all six candles on the lavender and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gladys would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pigeon! She hoped it would be a smooth pigeon. Her friend Shane had said he would give her a box of candy, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the cracker she gave her last year. Gladys could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a jogging suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fez.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Avon. Her mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Gladys replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra tofu. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gladys replied grimly. "Do we have the prime rib ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied firmly. "It only has to steam for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Gladys replied lightly. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Gladys responded, as she sat down to her pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the nightstand and the windowsill with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother shakily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tammy Brindel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Waa," Gladys responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."