Bernadette woke up with a bound. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of culottes and a party hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like musical chairs and Candy Land. Her dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and prime rib for everyone. Bernadette would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the lavender and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bernadette would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Kindle! She hoped it would be an autographed Kindle. Her friend Lindsay had said she would give her a cane, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the air compressor she gave her last year. Bernadette could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the beach. She would have to wear a swan costume instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her party hat.
She lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like basil. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Bernadette replied nervously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bernadette replied boldly. "Do we have the prime rib ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied rapidly. "It only has to sear outside for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Bernadette replied gracefully. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some potatoes and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Bernadette responded, as she sat down to her potatoes and gravy. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the workbench and the chest of drawers with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father firmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Teresa McGill. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Help," Bernadette responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shrug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."