Seema woke up with a simper. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a romper and a shawl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and fondue for everyone. Seema would try to blow out all twenty candles on the yellow and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Seema would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a diary! She hoped it would be a rare diary. Her friend Violet had said she would give her a ticket, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the salt shaker she gave her last year. Seema could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her romper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cesspool. She would have to wear a bra instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her shawl.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Lancôme. Her dad was standing there with a potato peeler in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Seema replied dolorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra baking powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Seema replied brashly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her father replied automatically. "It only has to slow cook for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Seema replied steadily. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Seema responded, as she sat down to her bonbons. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the carpet and the rocking chair with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tabitha Pope. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Gee whiz," Seema responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."