Deena woke up with a squint. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and a girdle. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Scrabble and chess. Her dad was planning to make plenty of shrimp and Cheerios for everyone. Deena would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the carrot-orange and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Deena would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chamber pot! She hoped it would be a damaged chamber pot. Her friend Jody had said she would give her a can of shaving cream, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the flyswatter she gave her last year. Deena could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the beach. She would have to wear a fig leaf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her girdle.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. Her dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Deena replied oddly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the shrimp," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra rum. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Deena replied grimly. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied hopelessly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Deena replied slowly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Deena responded, as she sat down to her country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the recliner and the cupboard with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father proudly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Harriet Barducci. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Sure," Deena responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."