Shirley woke up with a woof. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pocket watch and a ponytail. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like pool and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tacos and ice cream for everyone. Shirley would try to blow out all seven candles on the purple and salmon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shirley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of sardines! She hoped it would be a clean can of sardines. Her friend Minnie had said she would give her a doily, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the Frisbee she gave her last year. Shirley 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 pocket watch. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a headscarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her ponytail.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. Her dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Daddy!" Shirley replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra half and half. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shirley replied positively. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied slyly. "It only has to freeze for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Shirley replied sheepishly. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Shirley responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the four-poster bed with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father recklessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Stormy Harris. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Hallelujah," Shirley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."