LaDonna woke up with a bow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a trench coat and a Superman costume. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the conservatory was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twelve of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like croquet and solitaire. Her dad was planning to make plenty of hot dogs and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. LaDonna would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the green and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, LaDonna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a baseball! She hoped it would be a bent baseball. Her friend Joanie had said she would give her a yardstick, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the telephone book she gave her last year. LaDonna could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her trench coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the bog. She would have to wear a shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Superman costume.
She breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten fish. Her dad was standing there with an oven mitt in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" LaDonna replied tenderly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hot dogs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pecan pieces. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," LaDonna replied crankily. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied shyly. "It only has to fry urgently in funny skillet for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," LaDonna replied speedily. "I'm gonna go to the conservatory."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Hamburger Helper in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the conservatory 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," LaDonna responded, as she sat down to her Hamburger Helper. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the coffee table and the crib with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father slowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eve Wenzel. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Shucks," LaDonna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."