Olive woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a gladiator helmet and a Speedo. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like marbles and poker. Her dad was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for everyone. Olive would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the orange and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Olive would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bone! She hoped it would be a tiny bone. Her friend Sylvia had said she would give her a candle, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the ping-pong paddle she gave her last year. Olive could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her gladiator helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear a gown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Speedo.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanuts. Her dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a tear.
"Hi Daddy!" Olive replied neatly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra raisins. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Olive replied suddenly. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied cleverly. "It only has to slow cook for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Olive replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Olive responded, as she sat down to her pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the bench and the coat rack with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, LaDonna Austin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Sieg Heil," Olive 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."