Nelly woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a stethoscope and a pacifier. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like chess and dominos. Her dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and shrimp for everyone. Nelly would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the camouflage and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nelly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bell! She hoped it would be an imitation bell. Her friend Clarisa had said she would give her a pink flamingo, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the gun she gave her last year. Nelly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her stethoscope. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seashore. She would have to wear a winter coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pacifier.
She bounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Pla-Doh. Her dad was standing there with a potato peeler in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a shrug.
"Hi Daddy!" Nelly replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg white. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nelly replied fiercely. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied elatedly. "It only has to sauté for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Nelly replied peevishly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Nelly responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the cushion and the washstand with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father tearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Emma Tanaka. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Gads," Nelly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."