Babs 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 pair of cargo pants and a vest. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like cribbage and chess. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and prime rib for everyone. Babs would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the ivory and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Babs would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bible! She hoped it would be an electronic Bible. Her friend Alton had said he would give her a snail, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the bowling ball she gave her last year. Babs could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of cargo pants. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a military uniform instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her vest.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Calvin Klein. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snuffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Babs replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Cheerios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Babs replied admiringly. "Do we have the prime rib ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied angrily. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Babs replied daringly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Babs responded, as she sat down to her jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the crib and the china hutch with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother grimly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kimberly Washington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Dum de dum dum," Babs responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."