Natalie woke up with a chortle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a denim skirt and a uniform. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Candy Land and seven-up. Her dad was planning to make plenty of egg rolls and pizza for everyone. Natalie would try to blow out all two candles on the orange and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Natalie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cane! She hoped it would be a crooked cane. Her friend Karen had said she would give her a baseball bat, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the gun she gave her last year. Natalie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her denim skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a raincoat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her uniform.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry blossoms. Her dad was standing there with a pastry blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grimace.
"Hi Daddy!" Natalie replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Natalie replied charmingly. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied tenderly. "It only has to microwave for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Natalie replied peevishly. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some steak in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room 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," Natalie responded, as she sat down to her steak. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the coat rack and the table with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father confidently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mackenzie James. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Ay chihuahua," Natalie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."