Peg woke up with a bow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tattoo and a coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like roulette and bridge. Her dad was planning to make plenty of steak and fish and chips for everyone. Peg would try to blow out all seven candles on the orange and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Peg would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Rubik's cube! She hoped it would be a chic Rubik's cube. Her friend Ella had said she would give her a towel, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the artificial flower she gave her last year. Peg 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 tattoo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the beach. She would have to wear a nightgown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coat.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. Her dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Peg replied admiringly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra crabmeat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Peg replied lightly. "Do we have the fish and chips ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied patiently. "It only has to shake for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Peg replied surreptitiously. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies 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," Peg responded, as she sat down to her brownies. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the carpet and the hatstand with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father languidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sandra Eppley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Hallelujah," Peg responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."