Erin woke up with a cheer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a party hat and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Scrabble and chess. Her dad was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and jambalaya for everyone. Erin would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the crimson and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Erin would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toilet plunger! She hoped it would be an automatic toilet plunger. Her friend Connie had said she would give her a pair of scissors, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the painting she gave her last year. Erin could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her party hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cesspool. She would have to wear a bib instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bell-bottoms.
She set out downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten potatoes. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Erin replied frantically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Erin replied defiantly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied perkily. "It only has to age for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Erin replied violently. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Erin responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the table and the end table with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mary Fagan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Son of a gun," Erin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."