Marya woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bikini and a sarong. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like bridge and jacks. Her dad was planning to make plenty of omelet and prune pudding for everyone. Marya would try to blow out all four candles on the mauve and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of candy! She hoped it would be a cardboard piece of candy. Her friend Riley had said she would give her a soccer ball, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the amulet she gave her last year. Marya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bikini. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the badlands area. She would have to wear an Armani suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sarong.
She galumphed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sour milk. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grunt.
"Hi Daddy!" Marya replied energetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra macaroni. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marya replied intensely. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied effortlessly. "It only has to arrange for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Marya replied threateningly. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," Marya responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the TV and the china hutch with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father confidently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jessi Berkshire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Barf," Marya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."