Faye woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Oxfords and a fez. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like checkers and duck duck goose. Her mom was planning to make plenty of macaroni and cheese and ceviche for everyone. Faye would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the polka dotted and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Faye would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hubcap! She hoped it would be a dirty hubcap. Her friend Billy Bob had said he would give her a model airplane, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the nail she gave her last year. Faye could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Oxfords. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a pith helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fez.
She swaggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nail polish. Her mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snicker.
"Hi Mommy!" Faye replied carefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni and cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Faye replied lovingly. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied quietly. "It only has to melt for ten minutes."
"Okay," Faye replied crossly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hamburgers in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Faye responded, as she sat down to her hamburgers. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the pillow and the cupboard with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother dubiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mirabel Johnston. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Waa," Faye responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."