Jane woke up with a belch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a nose ring and a fedora. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like chess and hearts. Her dad was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and potatoes and gravy for everyone. Jane would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the scarlet and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jane would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flute! She hoped it would be a broken flute. Her friend Marcie had said she would give her an iPad, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the roll of duct tape she gave her last year. Jane could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her nose ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the ridge. She would have to wear a letter jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fedora.
She strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Juicy Fruit gum. Her dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Jane replied demurely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jane replied grudgingly. "Do we have the potatoes and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied sleepily. "It only has to sear for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Jane replied quickly. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard room 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," Jane responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the pillow and the nightstand with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eileen Peters. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Gotta love it," Jane responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."