Kathryn woke up with a finger gun. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a stethoscope and a coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like charades and jump rope. Her dad was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and chicken gumbo for everyone. Kathryn would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the silver and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kathryn would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chart! She hoped it would be a hard chart. Her friend Mim had said she would give her a bilge pump, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the pumpkin she gave her last year. Kathryn could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood 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 prairie. She would have to wear a helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her coat.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. Her dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a gasp.
"Hi Daddy!" Kathryn replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra brown sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kathryn replied grudgingly. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied slyly. "It only has to sear outside for ninety minutes."
"Okay," Kathryn replied calmly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Kathryn responded, as she sat down to her egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the cash register and the dining table with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father testily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eleanor Darnell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Congratulations," Kathryn 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."