Jeanette woke up with a cringe. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of khakis and a bulletproof vest. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Monopoly and solitaire. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and mulligan stew for everyone. Jeanette would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the teal and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeanette would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mousetrap! She hoped it would be a petite mousetrap. Her friend Carl had said he would give her an abacus, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the pack of gum she gave her last year. Jeanette could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of khakis. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the garden. She would have to wear a pair of Reeboks instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bulletproof vest.
She strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a candle shop. Her mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Jeanette replied hastily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra extra virgin olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeanette replied zestily. "Do we have the mulligan stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied cunningly. "It only has to slow cook for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Jeanette replied greedily. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Jeanette responded, as she sat down to her macaroni. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the bench and the couch with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sleepily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Paige Durand. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"The joke's on me," Jeanette responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."