Wesley woke up with a roar. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an armband and a ribbon. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Parcheesi and poker. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage and borscht for everyone. Wesley would try to blow out all four candles on the brown and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wesley would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a padlock! She hoped it would be an authentic padlock. Her friend Annabelle had said she would give her a suitcase, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the paperclip she gave her last year. Wesley could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a smartwatch instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her ribbon.
She struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a stiff upper lip.
"Hi Daddy!" Wesley replied tensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra baker's chocolate. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wesley replied peevishly. "Do we have the borscht ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her father replied lamely. "It only has to braise for ten minutes."
"Okay," Wesley replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Wesley responded, as she sat down to her beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the armoire and the ironing board with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father lamely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Petunia Witherspoon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Anyhoo," Wesley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."