Babs woke up with a tear. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxing gloves and a bridal gown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like billiards and chess. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hash and sweet potatoes for everyone. Babs would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the chartreuse and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Babs would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! She hoped it would be an imitation flag. Her friend Pops had said he would give her an ironing board, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the stuffed owl she gave her last year. Babs could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxing gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a fur coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bridal gown.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel No. 5. Her mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flush.
"Hi Mommy!" Babs replied curiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kidney beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Babs replied tensely. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied cunningly. "It only has to arrange for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Babs replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hamburgers in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Babs responded, as she sat down to her hamburgers. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the coat rack and the cupboard with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nervously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alicia Lincoln. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Never," Babs responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."