Virginia woke up with a pout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an evening gown and a ponytail. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and fondue for everyone. Virginia would try to blow out all nine candles on the olive drab and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Virginia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cotton ball! She hoped it would be a narrow cotton ball. Her friend Francie had said she would give her a whistle, and her mother-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the compass she gave her last year. Virginia 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 evening gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a burqa instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her ponytail.
She ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sea mist. Her dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hoot.
"Hi Daddy!" Virginia replied bitterly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Virginia replied softly. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her father replied glumly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Virginia replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Virginia responded, as she sat down to her chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the billiard table and the couch with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father daintily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kami Titus. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Sacre bleu," Virginia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."