Triffid woke up with a clenched fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a wizard's hat and a letter jacket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like billiards and rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and macaroni for everyone. Triffid would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the pea green and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Triffid would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a kite! She hoped it would be an ordinary kite. Her friend Seth had said he would give her a stone, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the hair dryer she gave her last year. Triffid could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her wizard's hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mesa. She would have to wear a toga instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her letter jacket.
She hobbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like autumn leaves. Her mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Triffid replied menacingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kielbasa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Triffid replied positively. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied wearily. "It only has to blend for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Triffid replied narrowly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"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 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," Triffid responded, as she sat down to her oyster on the half-shell. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the floor and the settee with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother tenderly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Meg Everett. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Goodness," Triffid responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."