Megan woke up with a sniff. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a denim skirt and a pair of combat boots. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Candy Land and chess. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and country glazed ham for everyone. Megan would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the carrot-orange and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Megan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coin! She hoped it would be a delicate coin. Her friend Sophie had said she would give her a brush, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the chamber pot she gave her last year. Megan 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 denim skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a camisole instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of combat boots.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. Her dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hug.
"Hi Daddy!" Megan replied threateningly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Megan replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied excitedly. "It only has to fry anxiously in stolen skillet for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Megan replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Megan responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the windowsill and the TV with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father wearily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hildegarde Greybottom. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Blast," Megan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."