Hephzibah woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cape and a wet suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Cootie and treasure hunt. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pie a la mode and roast beef for everyone. Hephzibah would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the blue and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hephzibah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishing rod! She hoped it would be a stuffed fishing rod. Her friend Hunter had said he would give her a magnet, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the teacup she gave her last year. Hephzibah could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cape. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a pair of roller skates instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wet suit.
She proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a steakhouse. Her mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a chortle.
"Hi Mommy!" Hephzibah replied lovingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pie a la mode," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hephzibah replied blindly. "Do we have the roast beef ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied sadly. "It only has to slow cook for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Hephzibah replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Hephzibah responded, as she sat down to her ham. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the coat rack and the overstuffed chair with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mackenzie White. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Zounds," Hephzibah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."