Alicia woke up with a snuffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bowler hat and a bikini. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like cribbage and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and sushi for everyone. Alicia would try to blow out all nine candles on the purple and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alicia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishing pole! She hoped it would be a gross fishing pole. Her friend Alice had said she would give her a rubber stamp, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the piece of paper she gave her last year. Alicia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bowler hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the range. She would have to wear a cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bikini.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lemons. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Alicia replied ruefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra stuffed green olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alicia replied surreptitiously. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her father replied swiftly. "It only has to marinate for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Alicia replied hysterically. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Alicia responded, as she sat down to her enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the pool table with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Helen Saramago. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Cripes," Alicia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."