Marya woke up with a woof. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cheerleader's uniform and a moustache. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and hopscotch. Her dad was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and sweet potatoes for everyone. Marya would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the violet and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ingot of plutonium! She hoped it would be an imported ingot of plutonium. Her friend Antoinette had said she would give her a cigarette, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave her last year. Marya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cheerleader's uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lagoon. She would have to wear a hearing aid instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her moustache.
She waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. Her dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Marya replied ignobly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra limburger cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marya replied fearfully. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied stealthily. "It only has to age for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Marya replied violently. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Marya responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the dishwasher and the cash register with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Amber Caldwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Holy moley," Marya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a furrowed brow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."