Audrey woke up with a cheer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bib and a moustache. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like backgammon and trivia. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and prune pudding for everyone. Audrey would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the maroon and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Audrey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shovel! She hoped it would be a crooked shovel. Her friend Stuart had said he would give her a daisy, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the twig she gave her last year. Audrey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a poncho instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her moustache.
She proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pizza. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Audrey replied repeatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Audrey replied warmly. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied woefully. "It only has to shake for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Audrey replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Audrey responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the floor and the umbrella stand with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alyssa MacGibbon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Blast," Audrey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smile. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."