Roberta woke up with a death glare. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an armband and a gun belt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like baseball and Parcheesi. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken gumbo and sushi for everyone. Roberta would try to blow out all five candles on the metallic red and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roberta would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Lego set! She hoped it would be an autographed Lego set. Her friend Bernadette had said she would give her a blanket, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the lollipop she gave her last year. Roberta could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gun belt.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a spring rain. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Roberta replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken gumbo," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sweet pickles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roberta replied again. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied elatedly. "It only has to freeze for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Roberta replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Roberta responded, as she sat down to her bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the bookshelf and the cushion with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Elsa Pacheco. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Pshaw," Roberta responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."