Anna woke up with a guffaw. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a derby and a poodle skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like dodge ball and solitaire. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ham and sushi for everyone. Anna would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the burgundy and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Anna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an orchid! She hoped it would be a modern orchid. Her friend Susanna had said she would give her an abacus, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the Helmholz resonator she gave her last year. Anna could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her derby. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear a dunce cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her poodle skirt.
She sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fruit. Her dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a raspberry.
"Hi Daddy!" Anna replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ham," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pimientos. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Anna replied sourly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied frenetically. "It only has to microwave for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Anna replied trustingly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery 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," Anna responded, as she sat down to her Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the table and the toilet with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sorrowfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bridget Sitzman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Wild," Anna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."