Susan woke up with a grin. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a wet suit and a locket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like crazy eights and crazy eights. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and refried beans for everyone. Susan would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the fuchsia and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Susan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a doll! She hoped it would be a musty doll. Her friend Brenda had said she would give her an etching, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the paper clip she gave her last year. Susan 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 wet suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a necktie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her locket.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Juicy Fruit gum. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smirk.
"Hi Daddy!" Susan replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra hot water. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Susan replied diligently. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied steadily. "It only has to shake for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Susan replied thoughtfully. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Susan responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the carpet and the bunk bed with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father carefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Giselle Hart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Man alive," Susan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."