Meghan woke up with a flush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a parka and a pair of cowboy boots. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hearts and musical chairs. Her dad was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and chopped liver for everyone. Meghan would try to blow out all four candles on the beige and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Meghan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bell! She hoped it would be a bulky bell. Her friend Ethel had said she would give her a towel, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the toilet seat she gave her last year. Meghan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her parka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the veld. She would have to wear a garland instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cowboy boots.
She capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like moldy leftovers. Her dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a simper.
"Hi Daddy!" Meghan replied uselessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Meghan replied doubtfully. "Do we have the chopped liver ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied patiently. "It only has to blend for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Meghan replied pitifully. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry 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," Meghan responded, as she sat down to her candy. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the file cabinet and the bench with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Antoinette Deng. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Eeshk," Meghan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."