Audra woke up with a guffaw. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Crocs and a veil. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Candy Land and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and fondue for everyone. Audra would try to blow out all nine candles on the aqua and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Audra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a contract! She hoped it would be a delicate contract. Her friend Shelley had said she would give her a horseshoe, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the Frisbee she gave her last year. Audra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seashore. She would have to wear an armband instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her veil.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cinnamon rolls. Her dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a bound.
"Hi Daddy!" Audra replied effortlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pecan pieces. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Audra replied queerly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied languidly. "It only has to spoon into container for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Audra replied miserably. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Audra responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the table with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father daintily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Claudia Mohammadian. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Eh," Audra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a furrowed brow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."