Joan 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 helmet and a pair of Crocs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like jump rope and jacks. Her dad was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and tortillas for everyone. Joan would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the blue and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pop bottle! She hoped it would be a ridged pop bottle. Her friend Lauren had said she would give her a bell, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the pair of scissors she gave her last year. Joan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the neighborhood. She would have to wear a negligee instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Crocs.
She scampered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cookies. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Joan replied tensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joan replied sheepishly. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied unnaturally. "It only has to blanch for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Joan replied numbly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast 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," Joan responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the counter and the credenza with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father lickety-split. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Agnes Vigil. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"I'll bet," Joan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."