Audra woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a maxi skirt and a cardigan. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like red light green light and solitaire. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pot roast and crab rangoon for everyone. Audra would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the olive green and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Audra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a magazine! She hoped it would be a miniature magazine. Her friend Amanda had said she would give her a balloon, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the barbell she gave her last year. Audra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her maxi skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a set of pink foam curlers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cardigan.
She slipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a barn. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a giggle.
"Hi Daddy!" Audra replied carefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pot roast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra graham crackers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Audra replied demurely. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied uneasily. "It only has to scramble for four minutes."
"Okay," Audra replied joyously. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Audra responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the card table and the water bed with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father woodenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Gladys Barton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Geez Louise," Audra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."