Lillian woke up with a sneeze. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dirndl and a floppy hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like jump rope and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and ramen noodles for everyone. Lillian would try to blow out all nine candles on the olive drab and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a saddle! She hoped it would be a stiff saddle. Her friend Rico had said he would give her a dictionary, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the nail she gave her last year. Lillian could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her dirndl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the glen. She would have to wear a blazer instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her floppy hat.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. Her mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a tear.
"Hi Mommy!" Lillian replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped chives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lillian replied sternly. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopelessly. "It only has to heat for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Lillian replied crazily. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Lillian responded, as she sat down to her squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the floor and the hamper with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother thankfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cindi McDiggles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Castor and Pollux! Blow me to Bermuda," Lillian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."