Harriet woke up with a hoot. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of shoes and a blanket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like checkers and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and pancakes for everyone. Harriet would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the violet and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harriet would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a snail! She hoped it would be a funny snail. Her friend Meghan had said she would give her an iPad, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the billiard ball she gave her last year. Harriet could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a bowler hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her blanket.
She sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rain. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Harriet replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mayonnaise. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harriet replied miserably. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied pitifully. "It only has to sauté for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Harriet replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"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 master bathroom first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Harriet responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the billiard table and the file cabinet with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father impatiently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Violet Nilsson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Boom," Harriet responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."