Ruby woke up with a wink. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a miniskirt and a gorilla suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like doctor and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and squash blossom soup for everyone. Ruby would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the violet and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ruby would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flower! She hoped it would be an amazing flower. Her friend Elaine had said she would give her a snail, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the button she gave her last year. Ruby could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her miniskirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the stream. She would have to wear a sari instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gorilla suit.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hot cocoa. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Ruby replied charmingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raspberries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ruby replied nicely. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied sympathetically. "It only has to sear outside for six minutes."
"Okay," Ruby replied patiently. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries 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," Ruby responded, as she sat down to her French fries. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the cash register with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father numbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Cynthia Lippman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Why," Ruby responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hoot. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."