Annabelle woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a skirt and a pair of cycling shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and billiards. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and tuna casserole for everyone. Annabelle would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the pink and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Annabelle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a contract! She hoped it would be an archaic contract. Her friend Kami had said she would give her a camera, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the artificial flower she gave her last year. Annabelle 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 skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a big red rose instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cycling shorts.
She waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like enchiladas. Her dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smack.
"Hi Daddy!" Annabelle replied tearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sourdough. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Annabelle replied gratefully. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied energetically. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Annabelle replied tensely. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Annabelle responded, as she sat down to her clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the water bed and the billiard table with sea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father silently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Trixie Comstad. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"There-there," Annabelle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."