Lindsay woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of shorts and a dress. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like golf and backgammon. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Lindsay would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the sea green and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lindsay would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magnet! She hoped it would be a bulky magnet. Her friend Carrie had said she would give her an apple, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the blank check she gave her last year. Lindsay could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the tundra. She would have to wear a beach towel instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dress.
She blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a campfire. Her dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a pucker.
"Hi Daddy!" Lindsay replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra roast beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lindsay replied hastily. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied despondently. "It only has to simmer for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Lindsay replied furiously. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Lindsay responded, as she sat down to her fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the chair and the computer with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father grimly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Magdalena Bonner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Meh," Lindsay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."