Susanna woke up with a gurgle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a baseball cap and a dog collar. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Mother May I and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and Froot Loops for everyone. Susanna would try to blow out all twelve candles on the violet and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Susanna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teddy bear! She hoped it would be a prickly teddy bear. Her friend Alexander had said he would give her a Happy Meal, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the fishhook she gave her last year. Susanna 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 baseball cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a cat suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her dog collar.
She rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rain. Her mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a power fist.
"Hi Mommy!" Susanna replied urgently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Susanna replied hopelessly. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied ingeniously. "It only has to age for thirty-six minutes."
"Okay," Susanna replied bravely. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Susanna responded, as she sat down to her French fries. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the ironing board and the crib with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Iggy Crick. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Like fun," Susanna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."