April woke up with a giggle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a coat and a sundress. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like red rover and jump rope. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hash and ceviche for everyone. April would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the scarlet and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, April would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rag! She hoped it would be a burned rag. Her friend Hunter had said he would give her a shoe, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the notebook she gave her last year. April could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a pith helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sundress.
She loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like licorice. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" April replied quietly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apples. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," April replied gently. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied carelessly. "It only has to place on serving dish for four minutes."
"Okay," April replied suspiciously. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," April responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the washstand and the umbrella stand with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lindy Pryor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Goodness," April responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."