Stormy woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a few huge rags and a blouse. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Simon Says and red rover. Her mom was planning to make plenty of omelet and succotash for everyone. Stormy would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the beige and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stormy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowling ball! She hoped it would be an overgrown bowling ball. Her friend Joe had said he would give her a baton, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the elephant tusk she gave her last year. Stormy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her few huge rags. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the moonscape. She would have to wear a poodle skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her blouse.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like biscuits. Her mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sneer.
"Hi Mommy!" Stormy replied resignedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chocolate chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stormy replied boldly. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied fearlessly. "It only has to slow cook for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Stormy replied grandly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Stormy responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the canopy bed and the rocking chair with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Paula Lions. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Begad," Stormy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."