Elsie 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 Panama hat and a bolo tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like rummy and jacks. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hamburgers and fish and chips for everyone. Elsie would try to blow out all two candles on the burgundy and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elsie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! She hoped it would be a frilly spoon. Her friend Raymond had said he would give her a pom-pom, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the notebook she gave her last year. Elsie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Panama hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountain. She would have to wear a belt buckle instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bolo tie.
She bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a laundry. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Elsie replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hamburgers," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dry sherry. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elsie replied sternly. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied fondly. "It only has to mix tensely for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Elsie replied timidly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living 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," Elsie responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the umbrella stand with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Beulah Gleason. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Dubious," Elsie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."