Alisa woke up with a cheer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of flip-flops and a set of braces. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Scrabble and leapfrog. Her dad was planning to make plenty of popcorn and refried beans for everyone. Alisa would try to blow out all four candles on the golden and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alisa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of candy! She hoped it would be a fuzzy box of candy. Her friend Kristen had said she would give her a Kindle, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the coin she gave her last year. Alisa could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of flip-flops. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the circus tent. She would have to wear a tool belt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of braces.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rose petals. Her dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sigh.
"Hi Daddy!" Alisa replied firmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra anchovy. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alisa replied fondly. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied gruffly. "It only has to sear for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Alisa replied lamely. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Alisa responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the hammock and the billiard table with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father carefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tawny Henderson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Scurvy dog," Alisa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."