Valentina woke up with a bound. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tarboosh and a hood. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Clue and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and cabbage for everyone. Valentina would try to blow out all thirty candles on the azure and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Valentina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of pliers! She hoped it would be a bronze pair of pliers. Her friend Camille had said she would give her a Kindle, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the urn she gave her last year. Valentina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tarboosh. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the glen. She would have to wear a jogging suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hood.
She cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. Her dad was standing there with a garlic press in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a giggle.
"Hi Daddy!" Valentina replied sarcastically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra watercress. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Valentina replied dolefully. "Do we have the cabbage ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied carelessly. "It only has to fry for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Valentina replied openly. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Valentina responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the dishwasher and the canopy bed with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father boldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Winifred Orwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Oh please," Valentina 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."