Peg woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a ponytail and a diamond bracelet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like volleyball and pool. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and sweet potatoes for everyone. Peg would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the emerald green and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Peg would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a photograph! She hoped it would be a hand-carved photograph. Her friend Nate had said he would give her a camera, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the can of beans she gave her last year. Peg could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her ponytail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the outback. She would have to wear a sombrero instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her diamond bracelet.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like soap. Her mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Peg replied hysterically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra calamari. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Peg replied majestically. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied ruefully. "It only has to spoon into container for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Peg replied tenderly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some waffles 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Peg responded, as she sat down to her waffles. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the buffet and the washstand with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother courageously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Valentina Keene. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Holy buckets," Peg responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."