Rosemary woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a girdle and a set of braces. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like poker and golf. Her dad was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and shrimp for everyone. Rosemary would try to blow out all two candles on the yellow and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rosemary would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hip flask! She hoped it would be an excellent hip flask. Her friend Lucille had said she would give her a telephone, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the fishing pole she gave her last year. Rosemary could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her girdle. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a gladiator helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of braces.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. Her dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Rosemary replied frantically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rosemary replied irritably. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied woefully. "It only has to age for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Rosemary replied bitterly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec 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," Rosemary responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the nightstand and the filing cabinet with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fearlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kim Witherspoon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Yay," Rosemary responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a simper. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."