Robin woke up with a gasp. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a girdle and a pair of sweatpants. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the lounge was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like golf and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of roast beef and tuna casserole for everyone. Robin would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the maroon and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Robin would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a broom! She hoped it would be an art deco broom. Her friend Carla had said she would give her a suitcase, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the pencil she gave her last year. Robin could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon 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 jungle. She would have to wear a bracelet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of sweatpants.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a stiff upper lip.
"Hi Daddy!" Robin replied openly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Robin replied numbly. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied calmly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Robin replied openly. "I'm gonna go to the lounge."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the lounge 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," Robin responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the display case and the pool table with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father flightily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katherine Shakewell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Barf," Robin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."