Kimberly woke up with a sigh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a toga and a pair of moccasins. 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 four hours playing fun games like Mother May I and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of steak and ravioli for everyone. Kimberly would try to blow out all eight candles on the grey and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kimberly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hot potato! She hoped it would be a peculiar hot potato. Her friend Hank had said he would give her a dog biscuit, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the football she gave her last year. Kimberly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her toga. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the outback. She would have to wear a robe instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of moccasins.
She whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cinnamon. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Kimberly replied grudgingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oregano. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kimberly replied caustically. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied awkwardly. "It only has to braise for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Kimberly replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken pot pie 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Kimberly responded, as she sat down to her chicken pot pie. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the wooden crate and the desk with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother admiringly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Callie Ridley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Par bleu," Kimberly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."