Lizzie woke up with a tear. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a smartwatch and a suit of armor. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like billiards and Monopoly. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and macaroni for everyone. Lizzie would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the tan and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lizzie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bottle of painkillers! She hoped it would be an odd bottle of painkillers. Her friend Norman had said he would give her a pair of headphones, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the ping-pong paddle she gave her last year. Lizzie 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 smartwatch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a hoop skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her suit of armor.
She sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tacos. Her mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a curtsey.
"Hi Mommy!" Lizzie replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lizzie replied offhandedly. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her mother replied warmly. "It only has to slow cook for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," Lizzie replied unnaturally. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Lizzie responded, as she sat down to her lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the hatstand and the end table with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tonya Klein. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"My my," Lizzie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."