Mim woke up with a crow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Crocs and a bikini. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red rover and musical chairs. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and falafel for everyone. Mim would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the aquamarine and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mim would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crate! She hoped it would be a gruesome crate. Her friend Gertrude had said she would give her a bag, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the stapler she gave her last year. Mim 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 pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cornfield. She would have to wear a bolo tie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bikini.
She rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like paint. Her dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a flush.
"Hi Daddy!" Mim replied cruelly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mim replied greedily. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied fearfully. "It only has to deep fry for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Mim replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg salad sandwich 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," Mim responded, as she sat down to her egg salad sandwich. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the hope chest and the sofa with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father trustingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Calista Hart. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Yowie," Mim responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."