Nora woke up with a cringe. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hat and a pair of pajamas. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like blackjack and jacks. Her dad was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and beef bouillon for everyone. Nora would try to blow out all thirty candles on the peach and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nora would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a purse! She hoped it would be an autographed purse. Her friend Hayley had said she would give her a nail, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the Bible she gave her last year. Nora could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a necklace instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of pajamas.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanut butter. Her dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Nora replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nora replied glumly. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied accidentally. "It only has to blend for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Nora replied temperamentally. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"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 servant's quarters first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Nora responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the catbird seat and the cash register with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father unabashedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Francene McBride. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"In your dreams," Nora responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."