Molly woke up with a dope slap. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a space suit and a poncho. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like dodge ball and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of mulligan stew and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Molly would try to blow out all twenty candles on the olive drab and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Molly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a peach! She hoped it would be a cheap peach. Her friend Judy had said she would give her a pepper grinder, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the orange she gave her last year. Molly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her space suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a pair of handcuffs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her poncho.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a swimming pool. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a cheer.
"Hi Daddy!" Molly replied deftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mulligan stew," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tomato sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Molly replied suspiciously. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied bravely. "It only has to place on serving dish for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Molly replied nicely. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Molly responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the counter and the ironing board with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Reba Bronner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Great Jehosaphat," Molly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."