Jeanne woke up with a dope slap. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bridal gown and a Superman costume. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like checkers and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and macaroni for everyone. Jeanne would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the golden and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeanne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coffee pot! She hoped it would be a rancid coffee pot. Her friend Belle had said she would give her a cotton ball, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the crayon she gave her last year. Jeanne could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bridal gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Superman costume.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barnyard. Her dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Jeanne replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeanne replied sweetly. "Do we have the macaroni ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied boisterously. "It only has to heat for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Jeanne replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast beef in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Jeanne responded, as she sat down to her roast beef. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the hatstand and the dining table with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fondly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Queenie Orman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"If only," Jeanne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."