Roxie woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of roller skates and a pair of overalls. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like hearts and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of steak and waffles for everyone. Roxie would try to blow out all thirty candles on the navy blue and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roxie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brochure! She hoped it would be an expensive brochure. Her friend Chloe had said she would give her a spinning wheel, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the playing card she gave her last year. Roxie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of roller skates. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of overalls.
She tiptoed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coffee. Her dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smirk.
"Hi Daddy!" Roxie replied uselessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra applesauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roxie replied slyly. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied fiercely. "It only has to toast for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Roxie replied cruelly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some borscht in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Roxie responded, as she sat down to her borscht. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the cash register and the file cabinet with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nelda Fink. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Encore," Roxie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."