Chloe woke up with a gurgle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bra and a pair of jeans. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and Cootie. Her dad was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Chloe would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the brilliant orange and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Chloe would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crutch! She hoped it would be an automatic crutch. Her friend Lauren had said she would give her an ironing board, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the magazine she gave her last year. Chloe could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bra. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a pair of roller skates instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of jeans.
She zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like strawberries. Her dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hoot.
"Hi Daddy!" Chloe replied roughly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra half and half. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Chloe replied accidentally. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied blankly. "It only has to simmer for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Chloe replied lazily. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Chloe responded, as she sat down to her ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of navy blue balloons and cover the computer and the computer with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father irritably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Joan Marsden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Pow," Chloe responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."