Xenia woke up with a grin. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sombrero and a pair of dentures. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like bridge and charades. Her dad was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Xenia would try to blow out all six candles on the jade and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Xenia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an accordion! She hoped it would be an archaic accordion. Her friend Gertrude had said she would give her a computer, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the cane she gave her last year. Xenia 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 sombrero. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of dentures.
She inched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like meatloaf. Her dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Xenia replied vacantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cod fillets. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Xenia replied grandly. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied quickly. "It only has to heat in microwave for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Xenia replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Xenia responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the stool and the computer with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father nervously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kay Orman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Hey," Xenia 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."