Melkadas woke up with a sniff. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a wedding dress and a pair of cargo pants. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hearts and rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of macaroni and cheese and French fries for everyone. Melkadas would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the orange and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Melkadas would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an avocado! She hoped it would be a plastic avocado. Her friend Desmond had said he would give her a pencil, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the flower she gave her last year. Melkadas could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her wedding dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the valley. She would have to wear a camisole instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cargo pants.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tea. Her mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Mommy!" Melkadas replied excitedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni and cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chicken. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Melkadas replied warily. "Do we have the French fries ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied busily. "It only has to place on serving dish for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Melkadas replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Melkadas responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the wine rack and the pool table with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother diligently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Belle Kettle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Eww," Melkadas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."