Lillian woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of cargo pants and a sport coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like rummy and follow the leader. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and lamb curry for everyone. Lillian would try to blow out all three candles on the golden and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of candy! She hoped it would be a gaudy piece of candy. Her friend Gabriela had said she would give her a crystal ball, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the mushroom she gave her last year. Lillian could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of cargo pants. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sport coat.
She sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. Her dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sniff.
"Hi Daddy!" Lillian replied gruffly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon filets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lillian replied diligently. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied uselessly. "It only has to mix gingerly for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Lillian replied deftly. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard 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," Lillian responded, as she sat down to her steak. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the billiard table with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father obediently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Trixie Comstad. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Is that a fact," Lillian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."