Lillian woke up with a guffaw. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a girdle and a heavy layer of makeup. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like musical chairs and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and country glazed ham for everyone. Lillian would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the burgundy and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Lillian would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! She hoped it would be a musty sponge. Her friend Vicki had said she would give her a needle and thread, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the diagram she gave her last year. Lillian could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her girdle. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the island. She would have to wear a kilt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her heavy layer of makeup.
She galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a spring rain. Her dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a growl.
"Hi Daddy!" Lillian replied vacantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Lillian replied bitterly. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied mysteriously. "It only has to sauté for three minutes."
"Okay," Lillian replied majestically. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob 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," Lillian responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the filing cabinet and the canopy bed with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father peevishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gilda Hobbs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Fribblenootums," Lillian 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."