Loreen woke up with a chortle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of ear muffs and a set of camo fatigues. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Scrabble and Russian roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken gumbo and tacos for everyone. Loreen would try to blow out all three candles on the mauve and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Loreen would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a camera! She hoped it would be a crisp camera. Her friend Emma had said she would give her a pacifier, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the cookie she gave her last year. Loreen 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 pair of ear muffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the pond. She would have to wear a pair of roller skates instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of camo fatigues.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mountain air. Her dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Loreen replied hysterically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken gumbo," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Loreen replied softly. "Do we have the tacos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied cautiously. "It only has to simmer for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Loreen replied cleverly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Loreen responded, as she sat down to her fried okra. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the bunk bed and the rocking chair with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sadly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marisa Parker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Hah," Loreen responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."