Jeanne woke up with a pucker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jumper and a toupee. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like dodge ball and dominos. Her dad was planning to make plenty of French fries and popcorn for everyone. Jeanne would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the blue and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jeanne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a box! She hoped it would be an abnormal box. Her friend Paige had said she would give her a sponge, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the clock she gave her last year. Jeanne could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her jumper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a pair of glasses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her toupee.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sage. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a face palm.
"Hi Daddy!" Jeanne replied bravely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra chili powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jeanne replied queerly. "Do we have the popcorn ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied bravely. "It only has to microwave for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Jeanne replied boisterously. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Jeanne responded, as she sat down to her bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the footstool and the chair with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father greedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ava Austin. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Good grief," Jeanne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."