Sophie woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a parka and a cardigan. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like cribbage and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and cinnamon toast for everyone. Sophie would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the carrot-orange and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sophie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clothespin! She hoped it would be a broken clothespin. Her friend Shandra had said she would give her a hair dryer, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the ice cream cone she gave her last year. Sophie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her parka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the river. She would have to wear a headscarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cardigan.
She waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like soap. Her dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a hiccup.
"Hi Daddy!" Sophie replied violently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cayenne pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sophie replied oddly. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied deftly. "It only has to spoon into container for twenty-two minutes."
"Okay," Sophie replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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 applesauce. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the bunk bed and the dining table with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father nicely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Petunia Houston. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Boy howdy," Sophie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."