Elise woke up with a shrug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of sweatpants and a pair of booties. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like solitaire and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of succotash and ham for everyone. Elise would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the terra cotta and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elise would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Helmholz resonator! She hoped it would be an excellent Helmholz resonator. Her friend Starla had said she would give her a hair dryer, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the basket she gave her last year. Elise could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of sweatpants. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the stream. She would have to wear a pair of bloomers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of booties.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like jasmine. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Elise replied doubtfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the succotash," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra vegetable broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elise replied numbly. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied boisterously. "It only has to place on serving dish for six minutes."
"Okay," Elise replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Elise responded, as she sat down to her tofu. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the stool and the safe with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rose Weeden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Good gravy," Elise responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."