Renee woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of scrubs and a visor. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like red light green light and crazy eights. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken soup and doughnuts for everyone. Renee would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the violet and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Renee would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cream puff! She hoped it would be an imported cream puff. Her friend Gina had said she would give her a bag of potato chips, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the fishing pole she gave her last year. Renee could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her set of scrubs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the peninsula. She would have to wear a bonnet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her visor.
She crawled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like spearmint. Her dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" Renee replied gruffly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pine nuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Renee replied unexpectedly. "Do we have the doughnuts ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her father replied queerly. "It only has to sauté for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Renee replied merrily. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Renee responded, as she sat down to her brownies. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the billiard table and the futon with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father brashly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mackenzie Bruce. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Ahh," Renee responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."