Leah woke up with a flinch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jerkin and an earring. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like solitaire and Russian roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and chicken chow mein for everyone. Leah would try to blow out all five candles on the hot pink and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a business card! She hoped it would be a bronze business card. Her friend Lakshmi had said she would give her a paperweight, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the playing card she gave her last year. Leah 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 jerkin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the crime scene. She would have to wear a pair of shoes instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her earring.
She sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cherry pie. Her dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Leah replied swiftly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cornstarch. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leah replied majestically. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied blindly. "It only has to sauté for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Leah replied lightly. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hors d'oeuvre in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Leah responded, as she sat down to her hors d'oeuvre. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the rocking chair and the bathtub with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father breathlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hephzibah Brooks. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Scurvy dog," Leah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."