Diane woke up with a sniff. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a fur coat and a fig leaf. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like dodge ball and volleyball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pancakes and brownies for everyone. Diane would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the azure and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Diane would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coconut! She hoped it would be a crusty coconut. Her friend Liling had said she would give her a mousetrap, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the iPad she gave her last year. Diane could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her fur coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the buffalo wallow. She would have to wear a cummerbund instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fig leaf.
She sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sewage. Her dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sniff.
"Hi Daddy!" Diane replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Diane replied merrily. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied steadily. "It only has to freeze for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Diane replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Diane responded, as she sat down to her applesauce. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the footstool and the china hutch with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Winifred Kilroy. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat thermometer."
"OMG," Diane responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."