Francie woke up with a gurgle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a watch and a jumper. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pool 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 blackjack and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and lobster for everyone. Francie would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the green and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hair brush! She hoped it would be an immense hair brush. Her friend Velma had said she would give her a pair of scissors, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the bouquet she gave her last year. Francie 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 watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the range. She would have to wear a wet suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jumper.
She strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nachos. Her dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Francie replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mint leaves. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francie replied fiercely. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied properly. "It only has to sear for five minutes."
"Okay," Francie replied unexpectedly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Francie responded, as she sat down to her pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the file cabinet and the couch with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father carefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tonya Owen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Alright," Francie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."