Lindy woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bib and a set of vampire fangs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hearts and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and omelet for everyone. Lindy would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the pea green and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lindy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a yo-yo! She hoped it would be a nifty yo-yo. Her friend Sylvia had said she would give her a camera, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the Lego set she gave her last year. Lindy 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 bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the jungle. She would have to wear a pair of sweatpants instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of vampire fangs.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a beauty salon. Her dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Lindy replied hastily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pretzels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lindy replied coldly. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied defiantly. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Lindy replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Lindy responded, as she sat down to her enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the wine rack and the casket with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Eppie Clooney. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Remarkable," Lindy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."