Leslie 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 pair of boxing gloves and a bib. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like jacks and blackjack. Her dad was planning to make plenty of succotash and omelet for everyone. Leslie would try to blow out all four candles on the olive green and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leslie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stick! She hoped it would be a cheap stick. Her friend Kaitlyn had said she would give her a picture, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the basket she gave her last year. Leslie 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 pair of boxing gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bib.
She tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bubble gum. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a flush.
"Hi Daddy!" Leslie replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn flakes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leslie replied suavely. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied angrily. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Leslie replied thankfully. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Leslie responded, as she sat down to her pretzels. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the bunk bed and the hatstand with scarlet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jennifer Sitzman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Dubious," Leslie 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."