Leila woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beanie and a pair of ear muffs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Monopoly and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and dry toast for everyone. Leila would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the azure and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leila would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of shaving cream! She hoped it would be a waxy can of shaving cream. Her friend Carina had said she would give her an orchid, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the tablet computer she gave her last year. Leila 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 beanie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seacoast. She would have to wear a pair of Bermuda shorts instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of ear muffs.
She walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. Her dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grin.
"Hi Daddy!" Leila replied threateningly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra limburger cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leila replied properly. "Do we have the dry toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied tearfully. "It only has to sear for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Leila replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Leila responded, as she sat down to her beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the coat rack and the end table with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father impatiently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Midge Chen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Hello," Leila responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."