Hildegarde woke up with a squint. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bowler hat and a wig. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like rummy and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of duck a l'orange and lamb curry for everyone. Hildegarde would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the khaki and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hildegarde would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of candy! She hoped it would be a nifty piece of candy. Her friend Randy had said he would give her a Happy Meal, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the Band-aid she gave her last year. Hildegarde could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bowler hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the trail. She would have to wear a stethoscope instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wig.
She slunk downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry pie. Her mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a caress.
"Hi Mommy!" Hildegarde replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the duck a l'orange," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hildegarde replied carefully. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied lazily. "It only has to sauté for six minutes."
"Okay," Hildegarde replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Hildegarde responded, as she sat down to her duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the dresser and the water bed with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mary Steinbeck. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Thanks for nothing," Hildegarde responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."