Faye woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a scarf and a cloak. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like cribbage and Rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Faye would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the navy blue and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Faye would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a package! She hoped it would be a large package. Her friend Owen had said he would give her a stuffed kitten, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the painting she gave her last year. Faye 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 scarf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the badlands area. She would have to wear a diamond necklace instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cloak.
She reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like June roses. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a chuckle.
"Hi Mommy!" Faye replied gruffly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork and beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Faye replied testily. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied sheepishly. "It only has to simmer for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Faye replied shakily. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Faye responded, as she sat down to her brownies. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the floor and the stool with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nimbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Celia Tuttle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Shoot," Faye responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."