Mopsy woke up with a titter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pacifier and a bedsheet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Scrabble and trivia. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and banana split for everyone. Mopsy would try to blow out all two candles on the purple and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mopsy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a jar of olives! She hoped it would be an autographed jar of olives. Her friend Cynthia had said she would give her a cactus plant, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the rose she gave her last year. Mopsy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pacifier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the beach. She would have to wear a balaclava instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bedsheet.
She staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Revlon. Her dad was standing there with a garlic press in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with an air kiss.
"Hi Daddy!" Mopsy replied boldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mussels. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mopsy replied obediently. "Do we have the banana split ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied breathlessly. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Mopsy replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cherries jubilee in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Mopsy responded, as she sat down to her cherries jubilee. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the table and the sofa with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father suspiciously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Andrea Arnold. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Blecch," Mopsy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."