Deborah woke up with a laugh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a rain coat and an Armani suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of hash and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Deborah would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the rose and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Deborah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of popcorn! She hoped it would be a bronze bag of popcorn. Her friend Nora had said she would give her a campaign sign, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the stone she gave her last year. Deborah could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her rain coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear a big smile instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Armani suit.
She sauntered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lemons. Her dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belly laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Deborah replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hash," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra carrots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Deborah replied sweetly. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied warmly. "It only has to sauté for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Deborah replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Deborah responded, as she sat down to her French fries. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the sofa and the water bed with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father tensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Giselle Zwiebel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Well," Deborah 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."