Eve woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a raincoat and a beret. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like baseball and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and Hamburger Helper for everyone. Eve would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the pink and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Eve would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a napkin! She hoped it would be a fabulous napkin. Her friend Ronnie had said he would give her a paperweight, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the toolbox she gave her last year. Eve could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her raincoat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cornfield. She would have to wear an earring instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beret.
She cantered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like incense. Her mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Eve replied peevishly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple cider. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Eve replied lovingly. "Do we have the Hamburger Helper ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied boisterously. "It only has to toast for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Eve replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Eve responded, as she sat down to her fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the safe and the hammock with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Claudette Werner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Yay," Eve responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."