Cindi woke up with a yawn. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of bloomers and a belt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of egg salad sandwich and lobster for everyone. Cindi would try to blow out all two candles on the carrot-orange and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cindi would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a muffin! She hoped it would be a gross muffin. Her friend Julie had said she would give her a painting, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the toilet seat she gave her last year. Cindi could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of bloomers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a black belt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belt.
She loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bleach. Her dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snarl.
"Hi Daddy!" Cindi replied hysterically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg salad sandwich," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh papaya. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cindi replied hungrily. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied frantically. "It only has to sear for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Cindi replied reluctantly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Cindi responded, as she sat down to her cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the file cabinet and the counter with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father wryly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bernadette Vigil. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Yowee," Cindi 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."