Kayla woke up with a beam. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a false moustache and a leotard. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like baseball and billiards. Her dad was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and blueberry pie for everyone. Kayla would try to blow out all eight candles on the pink and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kayla would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a firecracker! She hoped it would be a hand-carved firecracker. Her friend Eppie had said she would give her an accordion, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the bag of ice she gave her last year. Kayla 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 false moustache. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a garland instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her leotard.
She padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like formaldehyde. Her dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shiver.
"Hi Daddy!" Kayla replied daintily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bean sprouts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kayla replied nervously. "Do we have the blueberry pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied majestically. "It only has to grill for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Kayla replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front 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," Kayla responded, as she sat down to her clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the windowsill and the counter with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father glibly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Fiona Roman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Stoked," Kayla responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a caress. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."