Gillian woke up with a curtsey. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a dirndl and a pair of dungarees. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like pool and leapfrog. Her dad was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and lobster bisque for everyone. Gillian would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the magenta and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mop! She hoped it would be a fancy mop. Her friend Patricia had said she would give her a cactus plant, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the cane she gave her last year. Gillian 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 dirndl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the forest. She would have to wear a bodysuit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of dungarees.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like caramel corn. Her dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sneer.
"Hi Daddy!" Gillian replied cleverly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bread crumbs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gillian replied ingeniously. "Do we have the lobster bisque ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied hastily. "It only has to grill for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Gillian replied menacingly. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tuna casserole in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Gillian responded, as she sat down to her tuna casserole. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the computer and the wardrobe with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father peevishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Fawn Craven. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Far out, man," Gillian responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."