Natalie woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a burqa and a wristwatch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like leapfrog and hopscotch. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and beans for everyone. Natalie would try to blow out all twelve candles on the salmon and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Natalie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a church key! She hoped it would be a delicate church key. Her friend Johnny had said he would give her a picture, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the toothbrush she gave her last year. Natalie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her burqa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a wig instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wristwatch.
She went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baking cookies. Her mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Mommy!" Natalie replied shyly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Natalie replied suspiciously. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied diligently. "It only has to slow cook for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Natalie replied dolefully. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Natalie responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the cupboard and the computer with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Erin Ferrari. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Ick," Natalie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a furrowed brow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."