Roxie woke up with a gurgle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of earrings and a pair of Crocs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Simon Says and Candy Land. Her dad was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and cabbage rolls for everyone. Roxie would try to blow out all twelve candles on the grey and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roxie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rose! She hoped it would be a papery rose. Her friend Triffid had said she would give her a towel, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the trash can she gave her last year. Roxie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of earrings. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a bonnet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Crocs.
She bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ammonia. Her dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Roxie replied frantically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roxie replied zestily. "Do we have the cabbage rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied frenetically. "It only has to spoon into container for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Roxie replied pitifully. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tuna casserole in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Roxie responded, as she sat down to her tuna casserole. "Let's hang lots of ivory balloons and cover the futon and the stool with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father awkwardly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Madeline Austin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Pow," Roxie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."