Leonie woke up with a cringe. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a shawl and a bolo tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hopscotch and jacks. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pie a la mode and fried eggs for everyone. Leonie would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the pea green and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leonie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper airplane! She hoped it would be a modern paper airplane. Her friend Sanjay had said he would give her a bedpan, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the book she gave her last year. Leonie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a pair of nylons instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bolo tie.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a rose garden. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" Leonie replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pie a la mode," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra mayonnaise. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leonie replied miserably. "Do we have the fried eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied wildly. "It only has to age for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Leonie replied oddly. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room 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," Leonie responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the buffet and the dresser with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother ruefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alyssa Morgan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"I'm so sure," Leonie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."