Isabel woke up with a shiver. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tailcoat and a cape. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and hide and seek. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tacos and cabbage rolls for everyone. Isabel would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the orange and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Isabel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a battery! She hoped it would be a gooey battery. Her friend Dagmar had said she would give her a roll of duct tape, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the clarinet she gave her last year. Isabel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tailcoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a pair of safety glasses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cape.
She went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. Her dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Isabel replied recklessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra oatmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Isabel replied jokingly. "Do we have the cabbage rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied effortlessly. "It only has to arrange for fifty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Isabel replied humbly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some refried beans 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," Isabel responded, as she sat down to her refried beans. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the windowsill and the beanbag chair with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father warily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Deborah Lewis. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Okay," Isabel 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."