Marya woke up with a face palm. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of trousers and a skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like red rover and poker. Her dad was planning to make plenty of dry toast and lobster bisque for everyone. Marya would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the blue and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brochure! She hoped it would be an aromatic brochure. Her friend Doralene had said she would give her a Barbie doll, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the bat she gave her last year. Marya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of trousers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her skirt.
She sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like marijuana. Her dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a flush.
"Hi Daddy!" Marya replied pityingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dry toast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra diced pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marya replied uneasily. "Do we have the lobster bisque ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied sheepishly. "It only has to sauté for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Marya replied tenderly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dry toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Marya responded, as she sat down to her dry toast. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the footstool and the billiard table with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father lovingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Dierdre Spence. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Is that a fact," Marya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."