Katy woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gun belt and a pair of bloomers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like marbles and Snakes and Ladders. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fondue and hot dogs for everyone. Katy would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the amber and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Katy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a deck of cards! She hoped it would be an old deck of cards. Her friend Sanjay had said he would give her a clam, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the cracker she gave her last year. Katy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a tailcoat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bloomers.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burning trash. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smile.
"Hi Mommy!" Katy replied patiently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chili powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Katy replied blankly. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied testily. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Katy replied brashly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Katy responded, as she sat down to her cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the mattress and the beanbag chair with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Esmeralda Law. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Peachy-keen," Katy 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."