Tina woke up with a growl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a thong and an armband. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Simon Says and red rover. Her mom was planning to make plenty of apple pie and steak for everyone. Tina would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the jet black and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teacup! She hoped it would be a luxurious teacup. Her friend Pete had said he would give her a church key, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the potato she gave her last year. Tina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her thong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a pair of pantaloons instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her armband.
She bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast turkey. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Tina replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the apple pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parsley. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tina replied gruffly. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied tenderly. "It only has to boil for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Tina replied anxiously. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oyster on the half-shell 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," Tina responded, as she sat down to her oyster on the half-shell. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the counter and the settee with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sagely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Krystal Potatohead. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Ahem," Tina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."