Joanne woke up with a beam. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a leotard and a diaper. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hearts and blackjack. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and bonbons for everyone. Joanne would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the crimson and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joanne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Happy Meal! She hoped it would be a petite Happy Meal. Her friend Adrian had said he would give her a sponge, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the washrag she gave her last year. Joanne 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 leotard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a watch instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her diaper.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like dill pickles. Her mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a curtsey.
"Hi Mommy!" Joanne replied testily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vegetable broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joanne replied busily. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied innocently. "It only has to melt for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Joanne replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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," Joanne responded, as she sat down to her hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the stool and the settee with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother rapidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Queenie Clinton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Thunderation," Joanne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."