Tonya woke up with a woof. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of gloves and a pair of Oxfords. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Monopoly and ring around the rosie. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage rolls and smoked salmon for everyone. Tonya would try to blow out all four candles on the lavender and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tonya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an avocado! She hoped it would be a spongy avocado. Her friend Kayla had said she would give her a bird cage, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the needle and thread she gave her last year. Tonya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of gloves. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dump. She would have to wear a ring instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Oxfords.
She swung downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. Her dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Tonya replied dolorously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage rolls," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tonya replied narrowly. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied narrowly. "It only has to deep fry for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Tonya replied courteously. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Tonya responded, as she sat down to her fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the credenza with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dusty Goodman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Ay yi yi," Tonya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."