Violet woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a coat and a beehive. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like golf and Cootie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lobster and waffles for everyone. Violet would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the navy blue and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Violet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teapot! She hoped it would be a modern teapot. Her friend T.J. had said he would give her a sack of potatoes, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the muffin she gave her last year. Violet could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dump. She would have to wear a sari instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beehive.
She jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a steakhouse. Her mom was standing there with a garlic press in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Violet replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Tabasco sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Violet replied merrily. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied cruelly. "It only has to place on serving dish for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Violet replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some biscuits and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Violet responded, as she sat down to her biscuits and gravy. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the settee and the carpet with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother kindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Janet Singh. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Why," Violet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."