Gloria woke up with a snuffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxing gloves and a shawl. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library 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 shuffleboard and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ceviche and sauerkraut for everyone. Gloria would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the camouflage and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gloria would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a file folder! She hoped it would be a flaky file folder. Her friend Liling had said she would give her a fishhook, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the teacup she gave her last year. Gloria could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxing gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hayfield. She would have to wear a jumper instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her shawl.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like flatulence. Her dad was standing there with a ladle in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Gloria replied gingerly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ceviche," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra dry white wine. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gloria replied pitifully. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied smoothly. "It only has to mix woodenly for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Gloria replied happily. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Cheerios in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Gloria responded, as she sat down to her Cheerios. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the windowsill and the bath mat with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father speedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Claudia Townley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Excellent," Gloria responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."