Edith woke up with a pound of the chest. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a big grin and a pair of Groucho glasses. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like marbles and crazy eights. Her mom was planning to make plenty of dry toast and dry toast for everyone. Edith would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the lavender and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Edith would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an orchid! She hoped it would be a hand-painted orchid. Her friend David had said he would give her a bag, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the bird cage she gave her last year. Edith could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her big grin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the buffalo wallow. She would have to wear a beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Groucho glasses.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like road kill. Her mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flush.
"Hi Mommy!" Edith replied softly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Edith replied hysterically. "Do we have the dry toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied shyly. "It only has to marinate for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Edith replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Edith responded, as she sat down to her moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the file cabinet and the hope chest with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother coolly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Maria Sinclair. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Oh my," Edith responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."