Kelly woke up with a honk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Panama hat and a pair of shoes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like blackjack and volleyball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and cornbread for everyone. Kelly would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the yellow and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kelly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a handkerchief! She hoped it would be a used handkerchief. Her friend Helmut had said he would give her a map, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the dog collar she gave her last year. Kelly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Panama hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a pair of earrings instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shoes.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. Her mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a death glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Kelly replied despondently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kelly replied furiously. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied blankly. "It only has to grill for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Kelly replied fervently. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Kelly responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the sofa and the billiard table with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jasmine Suzuki. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Who says?," Kelly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."