Susanne woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of suspenders and a gorilla suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like doctor and tag. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sweet potatoes and cherries jubilee for everyone. Susanne would try to blow out all four candles on the turquoise and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Susanne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Barbie doll! She hoped it would be a luxurious Barbie doll. Her friend Harvey had said he would give her a bat, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the stack of papers she gave her last year. Susanne could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of suspenders. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the valley. She would have to wear a bonnet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gorilla suit.
She made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel No. 5. Her mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Susanne replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sweet potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra maple syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Susanne replied ingeniously. "Do we have the cherries jubilee ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied cunningly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Susanne replied ferociously. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Susanne responded, as she sat down to her sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the washstand and the display case with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother cunningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carina Lange. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat," Susanne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."