Elliott woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a fez and a negligee. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Candy Land and poker. Her dad was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and fried okra for everyone. Elliott would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the maroon and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elliott would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an Egyptian mummy! She hoped it would be a hefty Egyptian mummy. Her friend Eleanor had said she would give her a bag of groceries, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the yardstick she gave her last year. Elliott could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her fez. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a diamond bracelet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her negligee.
She strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Yves Saint Laurent. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belch.
"Hi Daddy!" Elliott replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra honey. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elliott replied speedily. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied ignobly. "It only has to press for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Elliott replied suavely. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler room 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," Elliott responded, as she sat down to her cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the hamper and the washing machine with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father madly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ava van Dorn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Blah," Elliott responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."