Kirsten woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an earring and a sweatshirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like baseball and marbles. Her dad was planning to make plenty of candy and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Kirsten would try to blow out all three candles on the violet and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kirsten would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box of candy! She hoped it would be a magnificent box of candy. Her friend Jennifer had said she would give her a backpack, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the nail she gave her last year. Kirsten could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her earring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lagoon. She would have to wear a bikini instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sweatshirt.
She capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like curry. Her dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Kirsten replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kirsten replied madly. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her father replied deliberately. "It only has to roast for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Kirsten replied neatly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Kirsten responded, as she sat down to her cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the bookshelf and the end table with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father unabashedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Coleen Dodd. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"That's crazy talk," Kirsten responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."