Jenny woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beard and a shawl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hopscotch and Monopoly. Her dad was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and brownies for everyone. Jenny would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the scarlet and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jenny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a business card! She hoped it would be a disgusting business card. Her friend Magdalena had said she would give her a bottle, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the broom she gave her last year. Jenny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her beard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a moustache instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her shawl.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bananas. Her dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sneer.
"Hi Daddy!" Jenny replied sourly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ricotta cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jenny replied testily. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied nervously. "It only has to broil for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Jenny replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hamburgers in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Jenny responded, as she sat down to her hamburgers. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the catbird seat and the file cabinet with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father awkwardly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Tanya Gonzales. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Castor and Pollux! Blow me to Bermuda," Jenny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."