Marya woke up with a woof. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jacket and a trench coat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like old maid and jump rope. Her dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and tofu for everyone. Marya would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the amber and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marya would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a soccer ball! She hoped it would be a frilly soccer ball. Her friend Nicki had said she would give her a handkerchief, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the piece of candy she gave her last year. Marya could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm 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 park. She would have to wear a corsage instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her trench coat.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gingerbread. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Marya replied speedily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of tomato soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marya replied sympathetically. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her father replied woefully. "It only has to marinate for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Marya replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Marya responded, as she sat down to her candy. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the mattress and the piano with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father jokingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Thelma De Luca. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Diddly bunk," Marya responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."