Toni woke up with a wink. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tattoo and a pair of Groucho glasses. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like golf and badminton. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cornbread and ice cream for everyone. Toni would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the khaki and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Toni would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crystal ball! She hoped it would be an autographed crystal ball. Her friend Alison had said she would give her a carrot, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the bouquet she gave her last year. Toni could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tattoo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a wizard's hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Groucho glasses.
She galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baked beans. Her dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hug.
"Hi Daddy!" Toni replied slowly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Toni replied quickly. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied softly. "It only has to heat in microwave for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Toni replied valiantly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Toni responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the hammock and the bookcase with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father busily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Midge Tran. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Very interesting," Toni responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."