Azalea woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a bra. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Mother May I and red light green light. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and pumpkin pie for everyone. Azalea would try to blow out all eight candles on the chocolate brown and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Azalea would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a china doll! She hoped it would be a turquoise china doll. Her friend Hagit had said she would give her a pink flamingo, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the washrag she gave her last year. Azalea could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the battlefield. She would have to wear a jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bra.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast turkey. Her dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Azalea replied energetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh papaya. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Azalea replied joyously. "Do we have the pumpkin pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied glibly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Azalea replied again. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some borscht 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," Azalea responded, as she sat down to her borscht. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the bench and the hamper with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father strangely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Vivian Mainz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Stinkers," Azalea responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."