Clarisa woke up with a bow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cowboy hat and a duck costume. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Simon Says and charades. Her dad was planning to make plenty of lobster and chicken soup for everyone. Clarisa would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the burgundy and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clarisa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Band-aid! She hoped it would be a torn Band-aid. Her friend Gillian had said she would give her a Van Gogh, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the tote bag she gave her last year. Clarisa could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cowboy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the river. She would have to wear a false beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her duck costume.
She galloped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like used books. Her dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a pout.
"Hi Daddy!" Clarisa replied unabashedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra minced onion. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clarisa replied repeatedly. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied madly. "It only has to roast for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Clarisa replied pitifully. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tacos in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Clarisa responded, as she sat down to her tacos. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the stairway and the carpet with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father anxiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dierdre Targoff. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Harrumph," Clarisa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."