Francene woke up with a coo. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a belt and a pocket watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Scrabble and Scrabble. Her dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and scrambled eggs for everyone. Francene would try to blow out all twenty candles on the aquamarine and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mirror! She hoped it would be a magnificent mirror. Her friend Shirley had said she would give her a balloon, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the cotton ball she gave her last year. Francene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a bridal gown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pocket watch.
She jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a pig. Her dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Francene replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sour cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francene replied slyly. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied patiently. "It only has to grill for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Francene replied excitedly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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 enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the casket and the washing machine with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father slowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lynn Sibley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Yowee," Francene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."