Audrey woke up with a snigger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a coat of mail. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like cribbage and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and banana split for everyone. Audrey would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the jet black and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Audrey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a football! She hoped it would be a new football. Her friend Greta had said she would give her an accordion, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the key ring she gave her last year. Audrey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a pair of boxing gloves instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coat of mail.
She strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chloroform. Her dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Audrey replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tomatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Audrey replied sympathetically. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied boldly. "It only has to blanch for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Audrey replied sourly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Audrey responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the ironing board and the recliner with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ruby Deng. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Silence," Audrey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."