Kelley woke up with a pucker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a veil and a nightgown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like battleship and rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cabbage and cinnamon toast for everyone. Kelley would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the lavender and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kelley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a necklace! She hoped it would be a smelly necklace. Her friend Franklin had said he would give her a pair of pliers, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the air compressor she gave her last year. Kelley 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 veil. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the glen. She would have to wear a ring instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her nightgown.
She stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like natural gas. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Kelley replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra dill weed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kelley replied craftily. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied pitifully. "It only has to heat for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Kelley replied energetically. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Kelley responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the catbird seat and the pillow with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother queerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mildred Grady. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Tut-tut," Kelley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."