Deb woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt and a pair of dungarees. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and hot dogs for everyone. Deb would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the sea green and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Deb would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cookie! She hoped it would be a jagged cookie. Her friend Maybie had said she would give her a baseball bat, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the antenna she gave her last year. Deb could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her 'I'm with Stupid' shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a shawl instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of dungarees.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pepper. Her dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Deb replied brashly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Deb replied suspiciously. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied thankfully. "It only has to sauté for sixty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Deb replied speedily. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Deb responded, as she sat down to her moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the china cabinet and the wardrobe with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sadly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lottie Frankle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Gee," Deb responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."