Constance woke up with a chuckle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a baseball cap and a pair of handcuffs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Rummy and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cornbread and lime sherbet for everyone. Constance would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the brown and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Constance would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key! She hoped it would be a frilly key. Her friend Sig had said he would give her a nail, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the saddle she gave her last year. Constance could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her baseball cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the river. She would have to wear a badge instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of handcuffs.
She sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. Her mom was standing there with a foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a coo.
"Hi Mommy!" Constance replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Constance replied lightly. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied pitifully. "It only has to whirl for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Constance replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some succotash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Constance responded, as she sat down to her succotash. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the wardrobe and the hatstand with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother shyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Candi McCracken. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Very funny," Constance responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wink. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."