Madelyn 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 belt and a big smile. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red light green light and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of burritos and ravioli for everyone. Madelyn would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the khaki and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Madelyn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paperweight! She hoped it would be an original paperweight. Her friend Billy Bob had said he would give her a hockey puck, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the needle and thread she gave her last year. Madelyn 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 belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a ponytail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her big smile.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fish. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Mommy!" Madelyn replied thankfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the burritos," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Madelyn replied victoriously. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopefully. "It only has to place on serving dish for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Madelyn replied dolorously. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"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 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," Madelyn responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the armoire and the washing machine with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother properly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Toni Gardner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Roger," Madelyn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."