Sophie woke up with a snigger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tie and a bib. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like volleyball and follow the leader. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and succotash for everyone. Sophie would try to blow out all six candles on the salmon and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sophie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a dollhouse! She hoped it would be a golden dollhouse. Her friend Francie had said she would give her a Big Gulp, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the pail she gave her last year. Sophie 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 tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a black armband instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bib.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an old goat. Her dad was standing there with a slotted spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a frown.
"Hi Daddy!" Sophie replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra liver. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sophie replied speedily. "Do we have the succotash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied suavely. "It only has to melt for ten minutes."
"Okay," Sophie replied anxiously. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hot dogs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Sophie responded, as she sat down to her hot dogs. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the wooden crate and the credenza with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father unnaturally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Madeline Townley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"OMG," Sophie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."