Rebecca woke up with a coo. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a shawl and a watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like crazy eights and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and ceviche for everyone. Rebecca would try to blow out all thirty candles on the magenta and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rebecca would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rubber chicken! She hoped it would be a heavy rubber chicken. Her friend Shelley had said she would give her a knitting needle, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the bell she gave her last year. Rebecca could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the trail. She would have to wear a wig instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her watch.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. Her dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a dope slap.
"Hi Daddy!" Rebecca replied dolorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rebecca replied brashly. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied truculently. "It only has to poach lightly for six minutes."
"Okay," Rebecca replied blindly. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Rebecca responded, as she sat down to her moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the bathtub and the china cabinet with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father elatedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Melissa McIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Dubious," Rebecca responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."