Lindsey woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bracelet and a vest. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like billiards and dominos. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and chicken gumbo for everyone. Lindsey would try to blow out all ten candles on the maroon and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lindsey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shovel! She hoped it would be a multicolored shovel. Her friend Angelo had said he would give her a coloring book, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the remote control she gave her last year. Lindsey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the badlands area. She would have to wear a pair of sweatpants instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her vest.
She sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burnt toast. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a simper.
"Hi Mommy!" Lindsey replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra roast beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lindsey replied deliberately. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied fearfully. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Lindsey replied gently. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Lindsey responded, as she sat down to her mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the couch and the recliner with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Shelley Gentry. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Oh," Lindsey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a furrowed brow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."