Velma woke up with a honk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of briefs and a rain coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like golf and doctor. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and duck a l'orange for everyone. Velma would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the pea green and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Velma would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a picture! She hoped it would be an autographed picture. Her friend Lucille had said she would give her a pair of binoculars, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the Van Gogh she gave her last year. Velma 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 pair of briefs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the briar patch. She would have to wear a bolo tie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her rain coat.
She breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pipe tobacco. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a giggle.
"Hi Daddy!" Velma replied kindly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheddar cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Velma replied surreptitiously. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied lickety-split. "It only has to microwave for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Velma replied glibly. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler 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," Velma responded, as she sat down to her duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the crib and the overstuffed chair with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father uselessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marilyn Gardner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Unbelievable," Velma responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."