Tiffany woke up with a honk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of trousers and a watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red rover and Candy Land. Her dad was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Tiffany would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the navy blue and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tiffany would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a telephone book! She hoped it would be a funny telephone book. Her friend Rosemary had said she would give her a Bible, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the helmet she gave her last year. Tiffany could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of trousers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear a cowboy hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her watch.
She skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cloves. Her dad was standing there with a mixing spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shrug.
"Hi Daddy!" Tiffany replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mussels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tiffany replied smoothly. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied elatedly. "It only has to slow cook for two minutes."
"Okay," Tiffany replied nicely. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some burritos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Tiffany responded, as she sat down to her burritos. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the dresser and the credenza with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father hastily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Martina Childs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Holy frijole," Tiffany 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."