Brianna 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 a pair of safety glasses and an evening gown. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study 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 blackjack and Russian roulette. Her dad was planning to make plenty of borscht and egg rolls for everyone. Brianna would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the teal and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Brianna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! She hoped it would be a brittle flag. Her friend Jessica had said she would give her a spool of thread, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the bowling ball she gave her last year. Brianna 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 pair of safety glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountaintop. She would have to wear a pair of panties instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her evening gown.
She sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a laundry. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Brianna replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the borscht," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salsa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Brianna replied solemnly. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied steadily. "It only has to blend for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Brianna replied smoothly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tuna casserole in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Brianna responded, as she sat down to her tuna casserole. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the washstand and the futon with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sharply. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pleasance Brady. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Dag nabbit," Brianna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."