Midge woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a winter coat and a pair of flip-flops. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Rummy and shuffleboard. Her dad was planning to make plenty of burritos and brownies for everyone. Midge would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the terra cotta and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Midge would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a muffin! She hoped it would be a bent muffin. Her friend Faye had said she would give her a dog collar, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the playing card she gave her last year. Midge could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her winter coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a cloak instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of flip-flops.
She skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. Her dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Midge replied merrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the burritos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra limburger cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Midge replied craftily. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied dreamily. "It only has to freeze for seven minutes."
"Okay," Midge replied greedily. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sauerkraut in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Midge responded, as she sat down to her sauerkraut. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the mattress and the cash register with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father charmingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Carolyn Williams. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Of course," Midge responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."