Hephzibah woke up with a fist bump. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of cowboy boots and a baseball cap. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like marbles and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and macaroni for everyone. Hephzibah would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the aquamarine and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hephzibah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag! She hoped it would be a fancy bag. Her friend Emily had said she would give her a box, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the can of shaving cream she gave her last year. Hephzibah could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of cowboy boots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the forest. She would have to wear a motorcycle helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her baseball cap.
She rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like dill pickles. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Hephzibah replied angrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hephzibah replied uselessly. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied sorrowfully. "It only has to sear for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Hephzibah replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler 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," Hephzibah responded, as she sat down to her candy. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the file cabinet and the washstand with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father needlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bridget Bradley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Yowie," Hephzibah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."