Kate woke up with a roar. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a robe and a big red rose. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like backgammon and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and corn on the cob for everyone. Kate would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the violet and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kate would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pot! She hoped it would be a crooked pot. Her friend Leroy had said he would give her an air compressor, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the diamond she gave her last year. Kate could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her robe. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her big red rose.
She lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like diesel exhaust. Her mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a honk.
"Hi Mommy!" Kate replied deftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potato chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kate replied sorrowfully. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied charmingly. "It only has to boil for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Kate replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some jambalaya in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Kate responded, as she sat down to her jambalaya. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the catbird seat and the washing machine with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ana Merton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Goodness gracious," Kate responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."