Ada Belle woke up with a tear. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an award medal and a balaclava. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like tennis and marbles. Her dad was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and potatoes and gravy for everyone. Ada Belle would try to blow out all twenty candles on the crimson and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ada Belle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spoon! She hoped it would be a burned spoon. Her friend Queenie had said she would give her a mirror, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the baseball bat she gave her last year. Ada Belle could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her award medal. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the circus tent. She would have to wear a shawl instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her balaclava.
She pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wood. Her dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Daddy!" Ada Belle replied testily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cayenne pepper. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ada Belle replied confidently. "Do we have the potatoes and gravy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied crossly. "It only has to spread into container for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Ada Belle replied fondly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lime sherbet 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," Ada Belle responded, as she sat down to her lime sherbet. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the couch and the bed with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father solemnly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Brook Welles. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Malarkey," Ada Belle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."