Tammy woke up with a laugh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a badge and a helmet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and Russian roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and shrimp for everyone. Tammy would try to blow out all two candles on the pea green and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tammy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish bowl! She hoped it would be a burned fish bowl. Her friend Lynn had said she would give her a flashlight, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the pair of binoculars she gave her last year. Tammy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her badge. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a blanket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her helmet.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Estée Lauder. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a bound.
"Hi Daddy!" Tammy replied blissfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tammy replied gleefully. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied testily. "It only has to spread into container for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Tammy replied calmly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast turkey in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Tammy responded, as she sat down to her roast turkey. "Let's hang lots of chocolate brown balloons and cover the casket and the dining table with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father uselessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Melkadas Willis. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"For heaven's sake," Tammy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."