Sophie woke up with a pout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tie and a flak jacket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like trivia and crazy eights. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and corn on the cob for everyone. Sophie would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the navy blue and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sophie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hubcap! She hoped it would be a gigantic hubcap. Her friend Mary Lou had said she would give her a billfold, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the bag of groceries she gave her last year. Sophie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a nose ring instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her flak jacket.
She ran downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an ashtray. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grunt.
"Hi Daddy!" Sophie replied despondently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fava beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sophie replied again. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied fervently. "It only has to heat in microwave for two minutes."
"Okay," Sophie replied trustingly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Sophie responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the settee and the safe with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father needlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tammy Doyle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Ppppbbbft," Sophie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."