Fanny woke up with a snarl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gown and a pair of flip-flops. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like rummy and backgammon. Her dad was planning to make plenty of beef bouillon and oatmeal for everyone. Fanny would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the teal and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fanny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a corsage! She hoped it would be a gaudy corsage. Her friend Norma had said she would give her a baton, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the campaign sign she gave her last year. Fanny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a pair of jackboots instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of flip-flops.
She sallied forth downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a compost pile. Her dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a bound.
"Hi Daddy!" Fanny replied haughtily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beef bouillon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pistachios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fanny replied effortlessly. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied busily. "It only has to blanch for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Fanny replied happily. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Fanny responded, as she sat down to her smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the file cabinet and the hatstand with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father tenderly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Camella Clinton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Good gracious," Fanny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."