Fanny woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Groucho glasses and a denim skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like croquet and shuffleboard. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fried okra and candy for everyone. Fanny would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the grey and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fanny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a wastebasket! She hoped it would be a rough wastebasket. Her friend Karl had said he would give her a skull, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the boomerang she gave her last year. Fanny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Groucho glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear a bathrobe instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her denim skirt.
She pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mint. Her mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a belch.
"Hi Mommy!" Fanny replied viciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shelled pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fanny replied cunningly. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied later. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Fanny replied deftly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some banana split in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Fanny responded, as she sat down to her banana split. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the dresser and the settee with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Stella Prentice. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Okay then," Fanny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."