Celia woke up with a crow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a black belt and an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like trivia and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and tuna casserole for everyone. Celia would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the peach and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Celia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bible! She hoped it would be a luxurious Bible. Her friend Lois had said she would give her a key, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the doily she gave her last year. Celia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her black belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a dunce cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her 'I'm with Stupid' shirt.
She waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a sardine cannery. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Celia replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Celia replied strangely. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied demurely. "It only has to shake for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Celia replied busily. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Celia responded, as she sat down to her cabbage. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the display case and the buffet with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father jokingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Wanda Lyman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a paring knife."
"So sure," Celia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."