Leila woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a feather boa and a set of football pads. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like seven-up and follow the leader. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and steak for everyone. Leila would try to blow out all six candles on the periwinkle and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leila would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! She hoped it would be a hand-made spoon. Her friend Ronald had said he would give her a bagpipe, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the protest sign she gave her last year. Leila 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 feather boa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a bridal gown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of football pads.
She loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like boiled cabbage. Her mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Leila replied fearlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork and beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leila replied lazily. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied effortlessly. "It only has to age for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Leila replied brightly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Leila responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the overstuffed chair and the end table with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sagely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Veronica Gardner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Ahh," Leila responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."