Oona woke up with a jeer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of moccasins and a pair of pantaloons. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like dodge ball and Cootie. Her dad was planning to make plenty of roast turkey and refried beans for everyone. Oona would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the tan and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oona would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed kitten! She hoped it would be a ragged stuffed kitten. Her friend Cassandra had said she would give her a paintbrush, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the suitcase she gave her last year. Oona could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of moccasins. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear a turtleneck instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of pantaloons.
She sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like carnations. Her dad was standing there with a pastry blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sneer.
"Hi Daddy!" Oona replied sternly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast turkey," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra red lentils. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oona replied boisterously. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied craftily. "It only has to simmer for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Oona replied crossly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Oona responded, as she sat down to her crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the bed and the bed with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father strangely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kyra Gagné. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"What the devil," Oona responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."