Tammy woke up with a titter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a blanket and a beach towel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like dominos and Cootie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and fondue for everyone. Tammy would try to blow out all four candles on the striped and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tammy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a billiard ball! She hoped it would be an overgrown billiard ball. Her friend Wayne had said he would give her a skeleton costume, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the pot she gave her last year. Tammy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her blanket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the arroyo. She would have to wear a pair of suspenders instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beach towel.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roasted peppers. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a backward glance.
"Hi Mommy!" Tammy replied needlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovies. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tammy replied miserably. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied ferociously. "It only has to freeze for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Tammy replied angrily. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Tammy responded, as she sat down to her lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the coffee table and the file cabinet with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother cunningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jen Byers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"For cryin' out loud," Tammy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."