LaVerne woke up with a backward glance. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an Eton jacket and a pair of overalls. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like cribbage and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and chicken gumbo for everyone. LaVerne would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the aquamarine and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, LaVerne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dart! She hoped it would be an ornate dart. Her friend Patty had said she would give her a hockey puck, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the hip flask she gave her last year. LaVerne could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Eton jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the briar patch. She would have to wear a smartwatch instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of overalls.
She flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burning rubber. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" LaVerne replied daintily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra green beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," LaVerne replied bitterly. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied lickety-split. "It only has to place on serving dish for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," LaVerne replied trustingly. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi 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," LaVerne responded, as she sat down to her sushi. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the chair and the armoire with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father thankfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Anna Truman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Good gravy," LaVerne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."