Savannah woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bikini and a business suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and treasure hunt. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cornbread and country glazed ham for everyone. Savannah would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the red and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Savannah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an African violet! She hoped it would be a gaudy African violet. Her friend Marcy had said she would give her a protest sign, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the suitcase she gave her last year. Savannah could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bikini. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her business suit.
She flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like carnations. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with an evil eye.
"Hi Daddy!" Savannah replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cornmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Savannah replied grimly. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied warmly. "It only has to heat in microwave for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Savannah replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"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 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," Savannah responded, as she sat down to her borscht. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the dresser and the rug with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Regina Ashe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Yummy," Savannah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."