Izzy woke up with a snicker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a coat and an Armani suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like dominos and Mother May I. Her mom was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Izzy would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the jade and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Izzy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of Kleenex! She hoped it would be a wooden box of Kleenex. Her friend Fuzz had said he would give her a cello, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the paper clip she gave her last year. Izzy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the arroyo. She would have to wear a beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Armani suit.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like diesel exhaust. Her mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with an evil eye.
"Hi Mommy!" Izzy replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cinnamon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Izzy replied majestically. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied properly. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Izzy replied dreamily. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some falafel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Izzy responded, as she sat down to her falafel. "Let's hang lots of blue balloons and cover the bath mat and the overstuffed chair with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother repeatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Paula Adams. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"If only," Izzy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a clenched fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."