Elise woke up with a hug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a letter jacket and a jogging suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like blackjack and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage and sauerkraut for everyone. Elise would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the blue and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elise would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an acorn! She hoped it would be a fresh acorn. Her friend Corbin had said he would give her a banana, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the crate she gave her last year. Elise could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her letter jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the valley. She would have to wear a necktie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jogging suit.
She ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like popcorn. Her mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Elise replied bitterly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elise replied grudgingly. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied violently. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Elise replied violently. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu 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," Elise responded, as she sat down to her tofu. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the rocking chair and the coffee table with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother calmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, April Winkler. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Zzzzz," Elise responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."