Tanya woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poodle skirt and a belly button jewel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like checkers and Monopoly. Her mom was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and mulligan stew for everyone. Tanya would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the olive green and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tanya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! She hoped it would be a worn bowl. Her friend Randy had said he would give her an arrowhead, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the clarinet she gave her last year. Tanya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poodle skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lakeside. She would have to wear a pair of jackboots instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belly button jewel.
She whirled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Tanya replied irritably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vinegar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tanya replied softly. "Do we have the mulligan stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied hastily. "It only has to sauté for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Tanya replied temperamentally. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Tanya responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the sofa and the wardrobe with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother merrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vanessa Higgins. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Silence," Tanya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."