Christine woke up with a cringe. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beehive and a locket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and fried okra for everyone. Christine would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the white and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Christine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dog biscuit! She hoped it would be a gleaming dog biscuit. Her friend Ellen had said she would give her a pair of pliers, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the rose she gave her last year. Christine 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 beehive. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cesspool. She would have to wear a cat suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her locket.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rain. Her dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a giggle.
"Hi Daddy!" Christine replied gratefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Christine replied offhandedly. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied immediately. "It only has to simmer for twenty-four minutes."
"Okay," Christine replied roughly. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Christine responded, as she sat down to her chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the toilet and the windowsill with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father warily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kylie Watts. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Pish posh," Christine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."