Jill woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of dentures and a ski mask. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like dodge ball and roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of sweet potatoes and tortillas for everyone. Jill would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the red and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jill would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a top! She hoped it would be an ornate top. Her friend Jodene had said she would give her a flyswatter, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the sack she gave her last year. Jill 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 pair of dentures. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a gown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her ski mask.
She strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Chinese restaurant. Her dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a squint.
"Hi Daddy!" Jill replied elatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sweet potatoes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bread crumbs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jill replied calmly. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied fearlessly. "It only has to mix nonchalantly for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Jill replied unabashedly. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining room 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," Jill responded, as she sat down to her enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the wine rack and the pillow with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Barb Mackintosh. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Just a minute," Jill responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."