Blanca woke up with a growl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cowboy hat and a tank top. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like crazy eights and roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and lobster bisque for everyone. Blanca would try to blow out all twelve candles on the silver and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Blanca would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a computer! She hoped it would be a bizarre computer. Her friend Joan had said she would give her an abacus, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the basket she gave her last year. Blanca 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 cowboy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a leotard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tank top.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel No. 5. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belch.
"Hi Daddy!" Blanca replied energetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cucumber. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Blanca replied unabashedly. "Do we have the lobster bisque ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied bravely. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for six minutes."
"Okay," Blanca replied lickety-split. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Blanca responded, as she sat down to her lasagna. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the sofa and the wardrobe with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father madly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lorna Poole. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Oh my word," Blanca responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."