Natalie woke up with a flush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jumpsuit and a pair of bloomers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like old maid and jump rope. Her dad was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Natalie would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the hot pink and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Natalie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a calculator! She hoped it would be a stiff calculator. Her friend Sharon had said she would give her a protest sign, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the top she gave her last year. Natalie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her jumpsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the valley. She would have to wear a skeleton costume instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bloomers.
She sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly baked cookies. Her dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Natalie replied rapidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra diced pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Natalie replied sadly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied confidently. "It only has to blanch for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Natalie replied sheepishly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Natalie responded, as she sat down to her fried eggs. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the settee and the rocking chair with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father strictly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Loreen Northrum. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"For heaven's sake," Natalie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."