Bonita woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a mask and a pocket watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Scrabble and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and sweet potatoes for everyone. Bonita would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the blue and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bonita would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ice cream cone! She hoped it would be a gigantic ice cream cone. Her friend Blake had said he would give her a toy, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the rag she gave her last year. Bonita could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a sweater instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pocket watch.
She jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. Her mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hiccup.
"Hi Mommy!" Bonita replied grimly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra beef sirloin tips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bonita replied gingerly. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied grandly. "It only has to mix curiously for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Bonita replied peevishly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Bonita responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the floor and the piano with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother hastily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kristen Bernal. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Heavens to murgatroyd," Bonita responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."