Azalea woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of shoes and a trench coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like baseball and doctor. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and popcorn for everyone. Azalea would try to blow out all six candles on the brown and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Azalea would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed kitten! She hoped it would be a greasy stuffed kitten. Her friend Judith had said she would give her a Frisbee, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the hacksaw she gave her last year. Azalea could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the crime scene. She would have to wear an Eton jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her trench coat.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barn. Her dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Azalea replied clumsily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra shredded coconut. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Azalea replied busily. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied ruefully. "It only has to freeze for nine minutes."
"Okay," Azalea replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Azalea responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the wine rack with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hayley Arnold. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Gosh darn," Azalea responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."