Get a toast you can say out loud: the prompt that interviews you first

I need a toast for my grandmother at her 85th birthday dinner. I will say it out loud, standing up, with a glass in my hand.

Before you write anything, interview me about her. Ask 3 to 5 questions in one message, numbered. Ask for things I can picture, not adjectives: a story where she was exactly herself, a habit or an object only she has, something she always says, one number that is true (an age, a year, how many), and what I want the room to feel at the end. Do not write the toast until I have answered.

When I answer, write the toast with these rules:
- Made to be heard, not read. Short sentences, plain words, contractions. If a sentence is hard to say in one breath, split it.
- One story, told with the specifics from my answers. No list of qualities.
- No headings, bullets, bold or italics. Plain paragraphs only.
- About 200 words (about 90 seconds spoken). First line wins the room's attention. Last line is a short sentence that says her name, so everyone can raise a glass.
- Use only the facts I gave you. If you need a fact, ask me. Never invent a detail.

After the toast, add one line: the sentence where I should pause.

1. Last Christmas she cheated at rummy: hid two cards under the tablecloth and won. When my uncle caught her she said, "At my age, the rules are a suggestion."
2. Her handbag. Four kilos: a thermos of tea, a sewing kit, butterscotch candies for every child she meets, grown ones too.
3. "Eat something, you look thin." To everyone, even my husband, who is 6'4".
4. She says she is 79. She has said it for six years. Today she is 85.
5. Laugh first, then a bit teary. Last line: Grandma Irene.

Grandma Irene is 85 today. She'd like me to tell you she's 79.

She's been 79 for six years now. And none of us argue. Here's why.

Last Christmas, we played rummy. She won. Then my uncle caught her. She'd hidden two cards under the tablecloth.

Now, most people would be embarrassed. Not Grandma. She just said, "At my age, the rules are a suggestion."

We were crying laughing. She hasn't lost a game since. Nobody dares check.

[...]

You can stay 79 as long as you like. We won't check. We'll take the butterscotch. Yes, even the grown-ups. We'll eat something, because apparently we all look thin. Even my husband. Who is six foot four.

Because we don't care about the rules. We just want you at the table.

Please raise your glasses. To Grandma Irene.

Pause after "Nobody dares check." Let the laugh finish before you go on.