Giselle woke up with a tear. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of football pads and a tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like croquet and Parcheesi. Her dad was planning to make plenty of hash and pie a la mode for everyone. Giselle would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the magenta and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Giselle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! She hoped it would be a leather bowl. Her friend Darcy had said she would give her a top, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the painting she gave her last year. Giselle could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her set of football pads. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a Panama hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tie.
She sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bananas. Her dad was standing there with a whisk in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shout.
"Hi Daddy!" Giselle replied firmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime Jell-O. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Giselle replied dubiously. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied boisterously. "It only has to sear outside for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Giselle replied crazily. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Giselle responded, as she sat down to her crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the footstool and the coffee table with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father temperamentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lorie Berger. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Holy cats," Giselle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wince. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."