Edna woke up with an air kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cape and a feather boa. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Mother May I and seven-up. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and cookies for everyone. Edna would try to blow out all nine candles on the jade and khaki cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Edna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beans! She hoped it would be a narrow can of beans. Her friend Paige had said she would give her a pair of fuzzy dice, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the apple she gave her last year. Edna could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cape. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the ridge. She would have to wear a pair of safety glasses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her feather boa.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like anise. Her dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a cackle.
"Hi Daddy!" Edna replied blankly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg yolks. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Edna replied properly. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied speedily. "It only has to place on serving dish for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Edna replied innocently. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Edna responded, as she sat down to her crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the hope chest and the nightstand with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father lamely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Shirley Schecter. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Jiminy crickets," Edna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."