Lily woke up with a dope slap. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an earring and a pair of sweatpants. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like pool and duck duck goose. Her dad was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and dirty rice for everyone. Lily would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the lavender and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lily would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bunsen burner! She hoped it would be a dusty Bunsen burner. Her friend Anne had said she would give her a hand puppet, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the ashtray she gave her last year. Lily could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her earring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a set of braces instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of sweatpants.
She made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheap cologne. Her dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Lily replied pityingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lily replied narrowly. "Do we have the dirty rice ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied fearfully. "It only has to heat in microwave for fifty-five minutes."
"Okay," Lily replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Lily responded, as she sat down to her sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of indigo balloons and cover the coat rack and the overstuffed chair with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ophelia Barducci. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Well I'll be," Lily responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."