Olivia woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a feather boa and a towel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like billiards and Russian roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and fondue for everyone. Olivia would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the azure and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Olivia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spittoon! She hoped it would be a wet spittoon. Her friend Faye had said she would give her a mushroom, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the pepper grinder she gave her last year. Olivia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her feather boa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a belt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her towel.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like flowers. Her dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Olivia replied caustically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cod fillets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Olivia replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied blindly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Olivia replied crazily. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Olivia responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the computer and the ottoman with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kristi Dayton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Just a minute," Olivia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."