Krystal woke up with a fist bump. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a belly button jewel and a dirndl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Clue and volleyball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of egg salad sandwich and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Krystal would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the silver and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Krystal would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of scissors! She hoped it would be a burned pair of scissors. Her friend Oksana had said she would give her a toilet seat, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the spittoon she gave her last year. Krystal could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dirndl.
She traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Pla-Doh. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a twitch.
"Hi Daddy!" Krystal replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg salad sandwich," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Krystal replied sleepily. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied rapidly. "It only has to simmer for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Krystal replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living 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," Krystal responded, as she sat down to her pot roast. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the desk and the rug with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father nimbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Stacy Cannon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"I doubt it," Krystal responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."