Tawny woke up with a belly laugh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poncho and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like battleship and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and fried eggs for everyone. Tawny would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the grey and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tawny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a picture! She hoped it would be a wooden picture. Her friend Gavin had said he would give her a horseshoe, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the pepper grinder she gave her last year. Tawny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poncho. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the forest. She would have to wear a sweatshirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bell-bottoms.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like farts. Her mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Tawny replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salsa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tawny replied suddenly. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied quickly. "It only has to fry for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Tawny replied sternly. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Tawny responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the bunk bed and the TV with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Flo Mouse. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Now what?," Tawny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."