Lucille woke up with a shout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cocktail dress and a hoop skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like golf and billiards. Her dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and apple pie for everyone. Lucille would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the terra cotta and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lucille would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a garbage can! She hoped it would be a stuffed garbage can. Her friend Wilma had said she would give her a dog biscuit, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the coconut she gave her last year. Lucille could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cocktail dress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the pasture. She would have to wear a rain coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hoop skirt.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. Her dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a cheer.
"Hi Daddy!" Lucille replied breathlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Italian seasoning. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lucille replied hopefully. "Do we have the apple pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied immediately. "It only has to scramble for three minutes."
"Okay," Lucille replied uneasily. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cotton candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Lucille responded, as she sat down to her cotton candy. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the crib and the couch with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father urgently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susan Poole. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Gawwwleeee," Lucille responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."