Eleanor woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of pantaloons and a smartwatch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Scrabble and doctor. Her dad was planning to make plenty of biscuits and gravy and succotash for everyone. Eleanor would try to blow out all four candles on the violet and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Eleanor would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a grease gun! She hoped it would be a rigid grease gun. Her friend Eppie had said she would give her an ingot of plutonium, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the key she gave her last year. Eleanor could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of pantaloons. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cornfield. She would have to wear a babushka instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her smartwatch.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like onions. Her dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Daddy!" Eleanor replied perkily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the biscuits and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra vanilla. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Eleanor replied roughly. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied oddly. "It only has to blend for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Eleanor replied openly. "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," Eleanor responded, as she sat down to her beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the canopy bed and the washstand with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father humbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Holly Houston. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Crap," Eleanor responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."