Cinderella woke up with a finger gun. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tailcoat and a pair of false eyelashes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and jump rope. Her dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and biscuits and gravy for everyone. Cinderella would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the beige and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cinderella would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a carrot! She hoped it would be a rough carrot. Her friend Rose had said she would give her a pen, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the urn she gave her last year. Cinderella could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tailcoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a stovepipe hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of false eyelashes.
She walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigarettes. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Cinderella replied gleefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cinderella replied impatiently. "Do we have the biscuits and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her father replied repeatedly. "It only has to mix joyously for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Cinderella replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Cinderella responded, as she sat down to her crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the windowsill and the TV with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father threateningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kylie Mancini. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Boy oh boy," Cinderella responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."