Lois woke up with a grimace. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a smartwatch and a babushka. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and red light green light. Her dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and brownies for everyone. Lois would try to blow out all five candles on the chocolate brown and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lois would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a business card! She hoped it would be a gigantic business card. Her friend Kimberly had said she would give her a coat check ticket, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the paintbrush she gave her last year. Lois could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her smartwatch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the steppe. She would have to wear a ponytail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her babushka.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rubbing alcohol. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Lois replied solemnly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sauerkraut. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lois replied sweetly. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied pityingly. "It only has to shake for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Lois replied trustingly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some borscht in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Lois responded, as she sat down to her borscht. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the ottoman and the buffet with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Matilda Gustafson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Hallelujah," Lois responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."