Isabel woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an armband and a coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Clue and ring around the rosie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of macaroni and lime sherbet for everyone. Isabel would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the white and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Isabel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPad! She hoped it would be a spongy iPad. Her friend Nigel had said he would give her a knitting needle, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the stamp she gave her last year. Isabel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the steppe. She would have to wear a mask instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coat.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast beef. Her mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Isabel replied lazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Isabel replied solemnly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied effortlessly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for seven minutes."
"Okay," Isabel replied proudly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Isabel responded, as she sat down to her crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the catbird seat and the beanbag chair with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother uselessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Elvira Woolsey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Drat," Isabel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."