Rhoda woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sari and a bikini. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hopscotch and old maid. Her dad was planning to make plenty of brownies and tuna casserole for everyone. Rhoda would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the metallic red and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rhoda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! She hoped it would be a handy spoon. Her friend Angie had said she would give her a battery, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the jar of olives she gave her last year. Rhoda could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sari. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a sarong instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bikini.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sausage. Her dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Rhoda replied swiftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the brownies," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rhoda replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied suddenly. "It only has to simmer for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Rhoda replied suavely. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Rhoda responded, as she sat down to her tortillas. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the pool table and the coffee table with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father hungrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Agnes Gleason. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Really," Rhoda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."