Darcy woke up with a caress. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of bell-bottoms and a pith helmet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the nursery was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like jump rope and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Darcy would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the black and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Darcy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flashlight! She hoped it would be a synthetic flashlight. Her friend Marcus had said he would give her a fingernail clipper, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the stick of gum she gave her last year. Darcy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of bell-bottoms. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountainside. She would have to wear a pair of galoshes instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pith helmet.
She dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast turkey. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flutter.
"Hi Mommy!" Darcy replied pitifully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra capers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Darcy replied offhandedly. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied humbly. "It only has to shake for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Darcy replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the nursery."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the nursery first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Darcy responded, as she sat down to her tacos. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the stool and the overstuffed chair with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother stealthily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Kaylee Bates. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Nooo," Darcy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."