Wanda woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a heavy layer of makeup and a pair of shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like blackjack and trivia. Her dad was planning to make plenty of crab rangoon and smoked salmon for everyone. Wanda would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the indigo and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wanda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an orange! She hoped it would be a greasy orange. Her friend Oona had said she would give her a wrench, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the nail she gave her last year. Wanda could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her heavy layer of makeup. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a pair of cargo pants instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shorts.
She made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like blue cheese. Her dad was standing there with a garlic press in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hoot.
"Hi Daddy!" Wanda replied narrowly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crab rangoon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cayenne pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wanda replied fearfully. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied sternly. "It only has to sear outside for one minute."
"Okay," Wanda replied awkwardly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Wanda responded, as she sat down to her lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the mattress and the stool with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father stupidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jennessa Ordway. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"There-there," Wanda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."