Loretta woke up with a fist bump. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a hoop skirt and a wet suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like red rover and Scrabble. Her dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and prune pudding for everyone. Loretta would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the terra cotta and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Loretta would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a basket! She hoped it would be a worn basket. Her friend Emma had said she would give her a calculator, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the whistle she gave her last year. Loretta could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her hoop skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the bog. She would have to wear a blanket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her wet suit.
She waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burnt toast. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Loretta replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wide egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Loretta replied thoughtfully. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied nonchalantly. "It only has to press for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Loretta replied daringly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prime rib in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Loretta responded, as she sat down to her prime rib. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the toilet and the table with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father delicately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Rachel Baker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Sure," Loretta responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."