Gretchen woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a badge and a hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hopscotch and cribbage. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ravioli and roast turkey for everyone. Gretchen would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the rose and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gretchen would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a football! She hoped it would be a modern football. Her friend Russell had said he would give her a hair brush, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the flashlight she gave her last year. Gretchen could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her badge. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the steppe. She would have to wear a robe instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hat.
She made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheap cologne. Her mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grimace.
"Hi Mommy!" Gretchen replied fearlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gretchen replied properly. "Do we have the roast turkey ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied furiously. "It only has to deep fry for one minute."
"Okay," Gretchen replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Gretchen responded, as she sat down to her oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the stairway and the hammock with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lakshmi Bobble. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Great balls of fire," Gretchen responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."