Lindsey woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of vampire fangs and a nightgown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like leapfrog and doctor. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and dirty rice for everyone. Lindsey would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the pink and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lindsey would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! She hoped it would be a queer key ring. Her friend May had said she would give her a cactus plant, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the bag of ice she gave her last year. Lindsey could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her set of vampire fangs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the range. She would have to wear a loincloth instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her nightgown.
She cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. Her dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Lindsey replied accidentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Canadian bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lindsey replied excitedly. "Do we have the dirty rice ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied unexpectedly. "It only has to arrange for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Lindsey replied warmly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Lindsey responded, as she sat down to her chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the rug and the footstool with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father reluctantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marisa King. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Drat," Lindsey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."