Eloise woke up with a snarl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of socks and a sombrero. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like jacks and backgammon. Her dad was planning to make plenty of prime rib and steak for everyone. Eloise would try to blow out all five candles on the metallic red and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Eloise would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clam! She hoped it would be a delicate clam. Her friend Angie had said she would give her a piggy bank, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the telephone she gave her last year. Eloise could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of socks. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the river. She would have to wear a tattoo instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sombrero.
She crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. Her dad was standing there with a potato masher in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a blush.
"Hi Daddy!" Eloise replied merrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prime rib," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra habañero peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Eloise replied steadily. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied sourly. "It only has to slow cook for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Eloise replied cleverly. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage 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," Eloise responded, as she sat down to her fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the dishwasher and the bar stool with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father unnaturally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Constance Caldwell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Judas Priest," Eloise responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."