Sydney 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 toga and a maxi skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like musical chairs and jacks. Her dad was planning to make plenty of succotash and mushroom quiche for everyone. Sydney would try to blow out all two candles on the brown and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sydney would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed owl! She hoped it would be a grubby stuffed owl. Her friend Gretchen had said she would give her a teacup, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the fishing pole she gave her last year. Sydney could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her toga. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a sweater instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her maxi skirt.
She rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. Her dad was standing there with an oven mitt in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grimace.
"Hi Daddy!" Sydney replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh mushrooms. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sydney replied craftily. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied cruelly. "It only has to toast for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Sydney replied fondly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Sydney responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the armoire and the billiard table with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father delicately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ava Douglas. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"If only," Sydney responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."