Bethany woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a uniform and a T-shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like tennis and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and hamburgers for everyone. Bethany would try to blow out all twenty candles on the emerald green and green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bethany would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pink flamingo! She hoped it would be a woven pink flamingo. Her friend Meg had said she would give her a barbell, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave her last year. Bethany 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 uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a body shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her T-shirt.
She swung downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten fish. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Bethany replied tearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra tequila. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bethany replied caustically. "Do we have the hamburgers ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied cruelly. "It only has to microwave for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Bethany replied suspiciously. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Bethany responded, as she sat down to her brownies. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the stairway and the windowsill with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Clara Schmidt. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Bleep," Bethany responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."