Hildegarde woke up with a face palm. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a romper and a balaclava. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like roulette and volleyball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and duck a l'orange for everyone. Hildegarde would try to blow out all eleven candles on the brilliant orange and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hildegarde would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a basket! She hoped it would be a porcelain basket. Her friend Paige had said she would give her a chamber pot, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the billfold she gave her last year. Hildegarde could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her romper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a headband instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her balaclava.
She sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pizza. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Hildegarde replied effortlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cottage cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hildegarde replied recklessly. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied glibly. "It only has to spread into container for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Hildegarde replied slyly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken gumbo in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Hildegarde responded, as she sat down to her chicken gumbo. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the dresser and the counter with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Starla Carter. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Outstanding," Hildegarde responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."