Sheryl woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a veil and a hoodie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like chess and shuffleboard. Her dad was planning to make plenty of candy and banana split for everyone. Sheryl would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the green and magenta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sheryl would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a carrot! She hoped it would be a ridged carrot. Her friend Virginia had said she would give her a fossil, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the cookie she gave her last year. Sheryl could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her veil. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a pair of moccasins instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hoodie.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belch.
"Hi Daddy!" Sheryl replied flightily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra olive oil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sheryl replied joyously. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied patiently. "It only has to roast for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Sheryl replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Sheryl responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the stool and the hamper with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kitten Best. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Bravo," Sheryl responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."