Meghan woke up with a giggle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a pair of khakis. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like badminton and hearts. Her dad was planning to make plenty of bonbons and pizza for everyone. Meghan would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the aquamarine and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Meghan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dog biscuit! She hoped it would be a wet dog biscuit. Her friend Elsa had said she would give her a bag of groceries, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the toilet seat she gave her last year. Meghan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the ridge. She would have to wear a pair of khakis instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of khakis.
She reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten potatoes. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sneeze.
"Hi Daddy!" Meghan replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the bonbons," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ham. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Meghan replied shyly. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied ruefully. "It only has to shake for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Meghan replied gently. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Meghan responded, as she sat down to her cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the credenza and the overstuffed chair with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father wryly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Azalea McDermott. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Ay chihuahua," Meghan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."