Penny woke up with a crow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a skirt and a hoodie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the guest room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like tennis and doctor. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and chopped liver for everyone. Penny would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the fuchsia and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Penny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a broom! She hoped it would be a damaged broom. Her friend Gretchen had said she would give her a bag of potato chips, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the box of Kleenex she gave her last year. Penny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a pair of dentures instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her hoodie.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Elizabeth Arden. Her dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Penny replied flightily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra active dry yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Penny replied blissfully. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied lazily. "It only has to roast for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Penny replied positively. "I'm gonna go to the guest room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the guest 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," Penny responded, as she sat down to her Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the wooden crate and the pool table with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Harriet Fosbury. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Zowie," Penny 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."