Kimberly woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a babushka and a pacifier. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like cribbage and musical chairs. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and waffles for everyone. Kimberly would try to blow out all twenty candles on the scarlet and carrot-orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kimberly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piggy bank! She hoped it would be a new piggy bank. Her friend Connie had said she would give her a pillow, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the hot potato she gave her last year. Kimberly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her babushka. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a sarong instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pacifier.
She waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lavender. Her dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a cringe.
"Hi Daddy!" Kimberly replied silently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra avocado. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kimberly replied admiringly. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied crankily. "It only has to press for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Kimberly replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some refried beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Kimberly responded, as she sat down to her refried beans. "Let's hang lots of jade balloons and cover the toilet and the hope chest with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father obediently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eileen Stuart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Eek," Kimberly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."