Tammy woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Bermuda shorts and a jumpsuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like baseball and tag. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ravioli and sweet potatoes for everyone. Tammy would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the striped and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tammy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flashlight! She hoped it would be a gruesome flashlight. Her friend Noel had said he would give her a biscuit, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the toilet plunger she gave her last year. Tammy 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 pair of Bermuda shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the marsh. She would have to wear a bedsheet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jumpsuit.
She walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a dope slap.
"Hi Mommy!" Tammy replied suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon zest. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tammy replied brightly. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied boisterously. "It only has to fry for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Tammy replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg salad sandwich 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," Tammy responded, as she sat down to her egg salad sandwich. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the pedestal and the chair with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Dani Prentice. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"Encore," Tammy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."