Savannah woke up with a smack. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a zebra costume and a set of camo fatigues. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Candy Land and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and cornbread for everyone. Savannah would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the hot pink and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Savannah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a skull! She hoped it would be a primitive skull. Her friend Liz had said she would give her a broom, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the diamond she gave her last year. Savannah 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 zebra costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a beanie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of camo fatigues.
She rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ginger. Her dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Savannah replied suddenly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra active dry yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Savannah replied gently. "Do we have the cornbread ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied glumly. "It only has to place on serving dish for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Savannah replied nicely. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ham 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," Savannah responded, as she sat down to her ham. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the washstand and the washstand with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bobbie Hartford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Ay chihuahua," Savannah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."