Edith woke up with a gurgle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sport coat and a cowboy hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and charades. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Edith would try to blow out all ten candles on the jade and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Edith would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fork! She hoped it would be an imitation fork. Her friend Roxie had said she would give her an ingot of plutonium, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the toolbox she gave her last year. Edith could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sport coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a pair of dentures instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cowboy hat.
She climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a baby's diaper. Her dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snicker.
"Hi Daddy!" Edith replied quickly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Edith replied humbly. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied numbly. "It only has to sauté for three minutes."
"Okay," Edith replied ferociously. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Edith responded, as she sat down to her lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the piano and the cash register with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father slyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Olive Marchetti. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Bah," Edith responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."