Cecelia woke up with a fist bump. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of culottes and a set of pink foam curlers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like rummy and hopscotch. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and burritos for everyone. Cecelia would try to blow out all twelve candles on the peach and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cecelia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a trash can! She hoped it would be a dry trash can. Her friend Diane had said she would give her an elephant tusk, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the teddy bear she gave her last year. Cecelia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a set of dentures instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of pink foam curlers.
She lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like oregano. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" Cecelia replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kidney beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cecelia replied greedily. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied elatedly. "It only has to sear outside for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Cecelia replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Cecelia responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the canopy bed and the dining table with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mabel Ferguson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Wahoo," Cecelia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."