Victoria woke up with a death glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt and a pair of false eyelashes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like backgammon and golf. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and candy for everyone. Victoria would try to blow out all two candles on the periwinkle and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Victoria would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a boomerang! She hoped it would be a brittle boomerang. Her friend Ophelia had said she would give her a banana, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the flag she gave her last year. Victoria 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 'I'm with Stupid' shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the moonscape. She would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of false eyelashes.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. Her dad was standing there with a garlic press in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Victoria replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream style corn. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Victoria replied ignobly. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied smoothly. "It only has to sear outside for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Victoria replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Victoria responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the crib with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father cleverly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Celeste Schneider. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Sacre bleu," Victoria responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."