Eloise woke up with a giggle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of pantaloons and a bridal gown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like tennis and Rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of mushroom quiche and roast beef for everyone. Eloise would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the crimson and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Eloise would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sack! She hoped it would be a big sack. Her friend Isabel had said she would give her an African violet, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the Band-aid she gave her last year. Eloise could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of pantaloons. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountainside. She would have to wear a shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bridal gown.
She jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burnt toast. Her dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Eloise replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mushroom quiche," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra applesauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Eloise replied dubiously. "Do we have the roast beef ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied temperamentally. "It only has to smoke for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," Eloise replied mysteriously. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Eloise responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the washing machine and the armoire with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father hopefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sydney Bilgewater. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Moo," Eloise responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a death glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."