Gillian woke up with a wince. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an earring and a romper. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like blackjack and Rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pot roast and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Gillian would try to blow out all thirty candles on the forest green and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a yo-yo! She hoped it would be a flexible yo-yo. Her friend Norman had said he would give her a towel, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the photograph she gave her last year. Gillian could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her earring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lakeside. She would have to wear a pair of pajamas instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her romper.
She dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tacos. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a fist bump.
"Hi Mommy!" Gillian replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh basil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gillian replied hopefully. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied quickly. "It only has to blend for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Gillian replied mysteriously. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"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 servant's quarters 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," Gillian responded, as she sat down to her falafel. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the end table and the coat rack with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother tensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mandy Wagner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Yipes," Gillian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."