Antonia woke up with a giggle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jacket and a stethoscope. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pantry 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 Clue and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of steak and ceviche for everyone. Antonia would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the jet black and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Antonia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ball! She hoped it would be a peculiar ball. Her friend Fuzz had said he would give her a toilet plunger, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the dictionary she gave her last year. Antonia 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 jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the prairie. She would have to wear a bicycle helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her stethoscope.
She lumbered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like toothpaste. Her mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Antonia replied accidentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Antonia replied demurely. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied bravely. "It only has to roast for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Antonia replied needlessly. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pecan pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Antonia responded, as she sat down to her pecan pie. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the recliner and the computer with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother thoughtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pamela Truman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"Teehee," Antonia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."