Francene woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Groucho glasses and a coonskin hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like billiards and hide and seek. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and clam chowder for everyone. Francene would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the scarlet and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sack of potatoes! She hoped it would be a small sack of potatoes. Her friend Hagit had said she would give her a hair brush, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the fire hose she gave her last year. Francene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Groucho glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the beach. She would have to wear a tutu instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coonskin hat.
She barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. Her dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Daddy!" Francene replied thoughtfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork chops. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francene replied admiringly. "Do we have the clam chowder ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied ignobly. "It only has to place on serving dish for sixteen minutes."
"Okay," Francene replied wryly. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Francene responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the dining table and the catbird seat with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pleasance Gilson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"Ppppbbbft," Francene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."