Winnie woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cloak and a pair of shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like shuffleboard and battleship. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and refried beans for everyone. Winnie would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the aquamarine and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Winnie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! She hoped it would be an ancient key ring. Her friend Tim had said he would give her a comic book, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the chair she gave her last year. Winnie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cloak. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a hood instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shorts.
She zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. Her mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pucker.
"Hi Mommy!" Winnie replied swiftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork rinds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Winnie replied shakily. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied valiantly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Winnie replied carefully. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Winnie responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the bench and the cash register with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fearlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Martina MacIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Holy smokes," Winnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."