Mary Lou woke up with a crow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a leotard and a gun belt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like checkers and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and steak for everyone. Mary Lou would try to blow out all three candles on the grey and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mary Lou would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a top! She hoped it would be an aromatic top. Her friend Monica had said she would give her a key ring, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the bell she gave her last year. Mary Lou could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her leotard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a shawl instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gun belt.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bleach. Her dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Mary Lou replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Canadian bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mary Lou replied viciously. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied again. "It only has to marinate for fifty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Mary Lou replied greedily. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast 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," Mary Lou responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the bathtub and the crib with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father jokingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Latrina Castro. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Sure," Mary Lou responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."