Party Queen

by Marci Peschke

  “You can’t come with me,” I explain, “because you didn’t get invited. Okay?”

  He barks. “Ruff!” That means no!

  I bend down to pet him. “I know you don’t like it, but you’re going to have to stay here with Momma, Daddy, and T.J.,” I say. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”

  There is one sad doggie by the door. Ugly Brother cries when we leave. I’m missing him even before I get to Daddy’s truck. After T.J., he’s my best brother. Not too many people are lucky enough to have a dog for a brother!

  We drive straight to Katie’s house. Daddy plays KIKX Kountry on the radio and we sing along with the songs. Daddy sings in a deep rumbly voice. When we get there, I see a lot of other cars. Most of my friends are getting there at the same time I am.

  I see Lucy. She runs over to show me her new sleeping bag.

  “This party is going to be so much fun,” I say.

  Lucy nods. “I know!”

  Daddy gives me a big squeezy hug. He says, “Be good, sugar. See you tomorrow.”

  I wave goodbye with my best beauty queen wave and blow him a kiss. Then Lucy and I go inside.

  Katie’s momma has the living room all decorated with red, black, and white balloons. Tied to Katie’s chair is the cutest Minnie Mouse balloon.

  When all the guests arrive, we play pin the bow on Minnie Mouse. There is a giant Minnie Mouse head taped to the wall. Katie’s momma ties a red and white, polka-dotted scarf over each girl’s eyes and spins her around. Then she hands each girl a paper bow to stick on Minnie.

  When it’s my turn, I feel a little dizzy! Katie’s momma presses the paper bow into my hand. “Okay, Kylie Jean,” she says. “Go for it!”

  Lucy shouts, “Go straight!”

  Katie says, “No fair. Don’t help her.”

  “Don’t worry, I can do it by myself,” I tell everyone. Beauty queens don’t cheat.

  I find the wall and feel around for Minnie. Then I stick the bow where I think Minnie’s head is.

  I can hear Lucy giggling and some of the girls are laughing. When I pull off the scarf, I see that I’ve pinned the bow by Minnie’s nose and she looks like she has a mustache! That makes me giggle, too.

  The best part of the party is a delicious chocolate Minnie Mouse cupcake.

  “Ugly Brother would love this cupcake!” I say, thinking about my sad brother at home. “I wish I could take one home for him.”

  Lucy shakes her head. “Chocolate is not good for dogs, so you better not.”

  I know she’s right, but I still miss my dog!

  The girls and I eat and talk. Eating and talking makes me feel better until it’s time to go to sleep. I just can’t sleep. I roll around in my sleeping bag like a Tootsie Roll in a party favor bag.

  Usually Momma kisses me goodnight and Daddy turns off my light. That helps me fall asleep when I’m at home. It’s harder at someone else’s house.

  I try counting sheep in party hats. One sheep in a pink hat, two sheep in red hats, three sheep in green hats.

  All of the other girls are snug as a bug in their sleeping bags and sound asleep, but not me! It takes a long, long time for me to go to sleep.

  The next day I wake up feeling really tired. I am very, very happy to see Momma when she comes to fetch me. As soon as I get home, I’m going to take a long nap in my own bed!

  Party Tip #5:

  Include games (pin the bow on Minnie) or entertainment in your party planning.

  On Saturday afternoon, we go to Aunt Susie’s house to paint Libby’s nursery. A nursery is a room where a baby sleeps. When we get to Aunt Susie’s house, Lucy is watching cartoons.

  “Aren’t you excited about getting to help paint the nursery?” I ask her.

  Lucy shrugs and says, “Not really. I don’t want to help.”

  I am shocked. Lucy is always a great helper. Maybe she’s sick.

  I ask, “Are you feeling okay?”

  She nods and keeps right on watching TV.

  Lilly walks into the room and says, “Come on, Kylie Jean, I’ll help y’all paint.”

  On the way upstairs, she tells me that Lucy is still getting used to the idea of having a little sister.

  “I don’t get it,” I admit. “I think having a sister would be so much fun!”

  Lilly already has a little sister. “You have to share everything, even your momma’s attention,” she tells me. “It’s kinda hard.”

  That makes me stop and think a little bit.

  Up in the new baby’s nursery, Aunt Susie and Momma have spread old sheets on the floor so we won’t get paint on the carpet.

  Aunt Susie asks, “Where’s Lucy?”

  “Pouting downstairs,” Lilly says, rolling her eyes.

  “Well, I’d better go check on her,” Aunt Susie says. I think that’s a good idea! Lucy seems unhappy.

  In the meantime, we get right to work. Momma opens the paint can. She says, “It looks like you picked out the paint, Kylie Jean.”

  I peer into the can. You guessed it . . . the color is called Sweetheart PINK!

  Aunt Susie walks in. “Lucy’s on strike,” she says.

  When Momma sees my confused face, she says, “That means Lucy doesn’t want to help.”

  Aunt Susie nods and says, “It’s just the green-eyed monster.”

  I make a note in my head to ask Momma about the green-eyed monster. It sounds like something scary!

  “You know, a certain someone’s birthday is comin’ up,” Momma says, glancing at me. She means my birthday! “We should paint and plan at the same time.”

  “I like that idea!” Lilly says. “What kind of party do you want, Kylie Jean?”

  “I’m thinkin’ about havin’ a princess party,” I say.

  Momma smiles. “We could have party crowns instead of hats!” she suggests.

  “Oh, Momma, I love that idea!” I say. “And of course I want everything to be pink. . . .”

  “Of course you do,” Lilly says. She winks at me.

  We keep painting and planning. After a while, Aunt Susie goes downstairs to fix lunch. Nanny arrives to help us paint. She has the most adorable little pink baby quilt tied with tiny pink bows!

  Momma exclaims, “My goodness, you can make anything! That’s so darlin’.”

  Nanny lets me hold the quilt. It’s as soft as a cotton ball. Baby Libby will love it.

  “Just because it’s pink does not mean you can keep it,” Momma reminds me.

  “I know, I’m just looking at it,” I say. Then I notice that Nanny is carrying another bag. “What’s in there?” I ask.

  Nanny smiles. “It’s a present for your cousin Lucy,” she says. “She’s going to be a big sister for the first time!”

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Well, I can’t tell you until Lucy opens it,” Nanny says. Then she frowns. “But Lucy doesn’t seem to want her present!”

  “Let me take that present,” I say. “I’ll get her to open it!”

  Nanny hands me the bag, and I run downstairs. Lucy is still in the living room watching cartoons on the TV. I hand her the gift.

  “I don’t want to open this,” she says, pushing the bag away. “I already told Nanny that.”

  I sigh. “You are my best cousin,” I tell her, “so I’m going to be honest with you. Stop being silly and open your present.”

  Lucy looks mad with her mouth all scrunched up and her arms are crossed. I climb in the big chair with her.

  “Lilly is always telling me that being a big sister is fun,” she says. “But I don’t believe her.”

  “Why don’t you wait and see?” I ask.

  “Because I already know! Would you want to share your momma?” she asks. A tear slips out of her eye.

  I hold Lucy’s hand. “I do share my momma,
” I say. “With T.J. and Ugly Brother. And you share yours with Lilly. We all have to share our mommas. It will be all right. Just you wait and see. Now open your present, or I’m gonna keep it.”

  Lucy tears into the bag. Inside is a T-shirt that says, “I’m the Best Big Sister in the World!”

  Lucy puts the shirt back in the bag. I can tell she doesn’t even want to try it on.

  I sigh. Maybe lunch is ready. “Are you hungry?” I ask.

  Lucy shrugs and says, “I guess.”

  Aunt Susie’s kitchen has a big table in it. Lucy and I walk in and sit down at the table.

  In front of us are bowls full of chips and fruit and a huge plate of sandwiches cut into triangles, just the way I like them.

  Some are peanut butter and plum jelly, some are ham and cheese, and the rest are chicken salad. I choose ham and cheese.

  Peanut butter and jelly is Lucy’s favorite. I figure her momma made her favorite sandwiches so Lucy would stop being mad about the new baby.

  Lucy’s bad mood doesn’t go away when she takes the first bite. That makes me think she might have to eat that whole pile of sandwiches before she gets used to the idea of a new sister!

  Momma comes down with Nanny and Lilly and they join us at the table.

  Lilly reaches for a chicken salad sandwich. She has pink paint on her hand and on her face.

  “Well, we’re almost done up there,” Momma says.

  Nanny smiles and says, “Many hands make light work.” That means that with more people working the job takes less time!

  After we eat, I play a game with Lucy. If being in the nursery is making her sad, maybe playing Candyland will make her happy.

  When we are almost finished, Momma comes into the living room. “Okay, girls,” she says. “Baby Libby’s room is all painted. Kylie Jean, it’s time for us to go home.”

  “Can we please see who wins?” I ask.

  Momma lets us play the rest of the game. Lucy wins. She’s always lucky and good at games!

  On the way home, I remember to ask about the green-eyed monster. I ask, “Have you ever seen the green-eyed monster?”

  Momma smiles at me in the rear-view mirror. “No, sugar, there’s not really a monster,” she explains. “The green-eyed monster is jealousy. Lucy is jealous and still wants to be the baby in her family.”

  Poor Lucy. I guess I really do like being the baby in my family . . . most of the time.

  Party Tip #6:

  Be creative with party hats. They can match the party theme, or you can have guests make or bring their own party hats!

  On Monday, I get more mail! I tear open the pretty envelope. It’s another invitation. The invitation looks like a little purse with gold glitter on the handle.

  Then I read it. Oh, no! It’s another sleepover.

  Momma is in the living room reading her cooking magazine. I sit down beside her on the couch. She looks up from her magazine and asks, “What’s up, buttercup?”

  “I’m in a real pickle,” I admit. “Cara invited me to her party and I don’t want to go!”

  “Why not?” Momma asks. “Parties are fun!”

  I sigh. “Last week I was powerful sad leaving Ugly Brother here all alone,” I say. “And I missed you and Daddy. I even missed T.J.”

  Momma frowns. “You had a good time, though,” she reminds me. “You’re going to hurt Cara’s feelings if you don’t go to her party. After all, you went to Katie’s party last week. Cara will think you like Katie better.”

  My momma is pretty smart! I didn’t think about it like that.

  I sigh again. “Oh, all right,” I say. “I guess I can go to one more slumber party.”

  The next day, we go shopping at the Jacksonville Square Mall for the perfect present. I want to buy everything for my friend. Cara loves presents! First we go to the toy store, where I pick out a Glamour Girl doll.

  “Do you know if Cara already has one of those dolls?” Momma asks.

  I think for a minute and admit, “I don’t know. She might.”

  Momma puts the doll back on the shelf. “Maybe we better keep looking,” she says.

  The pet shop is our next stop. I like to look at the animals. They have hermit crabs, turtles, gerbils, hamsters, fish, snakes, kittens, puppies, and one tarantula spider.

  When I look at the spider, Momma shivers. She says, “Come away from there, Kylie Jean. Look at these little baby hamsters.”

  Cara has a pet hamster named Fefe La Rue. I think about getting Cara and Fefe a toy called a hamster ball. It’s a clear plastic ball that you open and put your hamster inside. Then the hamster can run all over your house!

  “How about this cute hamster ball?” I ask Momma.

  She looks at it, then looks at me, and asks, “Is that a present for the hamster or your friend?”

  “It could be for both of them,” I reply.

  But she’s right. It would mostly be for Fefe La Rue.

  Across the hall, I see the Posh Boutique. It has rows and rows of jewelry in every color. The walls look like a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and hot pink necklaces, bracelets, and earrings to match. There are sparkly diamond rings and tiaras, and headbands, scarves, and purses.

  “Let’s head over there next,” Momma says.

  When we walk inside the Posh Boutique, I want to buy everything! I see the scarf Katie’s momma used for our Pin-the-Bow-on-Minnie game. I point it out to Momma. “That was smart of Katie’s momma,” she says. “I’ll have to remember that game.”

  We look some more. I want to get everything in the boutique.

  “You can pick out one thing for Cara,” Momma says. “If you can’t decide, I’ll help you choose.”

  Finally I decide on a sparkly pink purse. It comes with jewelry inside!

  “That’s really cute,” Momma says.

  “When Cara sees that it is pink, she’ll know it’s from me,” I say.

  When we pay for the bag, the shop girl asks Momma if she should wrap it up. Momma looks at me. “I think we’ll wrap it at home,” she says. “Right, Kylie Jean?”

  “Yeah!” I say. “I want to make my own gift wrap!”

  The girl puts the purse into a shopping bag, and I carry it to the car.

  Back at home, I use pink paper, glue, and silver glitter to make the most beautiful wrapping paper ever!

  Ugly Brother wants to help, but he can’t because he gets glitter stuck on his tongue, so I do it by myself.

  First, I roll out the pink paper on the kitchen table. Then I make swirls with glue and shake sliver glitter over them. I blow on the glittery glue to help it dry faster, but it’s going to take a while.

  After my paper dries, Momma says, “This paper is divine. I love it!”

  “Is it ready to wrap?” I ask.

  Momma nods and says, “We’re going to need tape, ribbon, and scissors.”

  “Okay, Momma,” I say. “I’ll go get them.”

  I let Ugly Brother carry the tape. You have to carry scissors with the sharp part pointing down, so I carry them carefully.

  Momma holds up her thumbs and I loop the satiny silver ribbon around and around. “Now tie knot in the middle with a small piece of ribbon,” she tells me.

  I do that. Then I pull the loops out on each side, making a big fluffy silver bow.

  “Wow!” I say. Looking at Cara’s pretty present, I feel a little more excited about going to the slumber party.

  Momma smiles. “Darlin’,” she says, “it’s going to be the most beautiful present at the party!”

  Party Tip #7:

  Choose a personal gift that will delight the birthday girl or boy and remind her or him of you.

  On Friday night when it’s time to get ready to go, I want to stay at home! It has been a busy week and I
miss Ugly Brother! Just thinking about a slumber party makes me sadder than a girl without a new party dress.

  “I don’t want to go,” I tell Momma.

  “Sugar, you know you’ll have fun once you get there,” she says. “Besides, we already R.S.V.P.’d, and Cara will be so sad if you don’t go.”

  “I know, Momma,” I say. Then I get an idea. “Can I come home early if I get too sad and lonely?”

  “How can you be lonely in the middle of a room full of little girls?” she asks.

  That’s easy to explain, since none of those girls are as special to me as Ugly Brother, except Lucy. Anyway, she might not even come to the party because she is so mad about getting a baby sister. But I don’t tell Momma that.

  Momma gives me a hug. Then she says, “Get your bag and at least try to have fun at the party, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say. But I’m not so sure Momma is right this time.

  When Momma drops me off at Cara’s house, I give her a big squeezy hug and then I give another one to Ugly Brother. It’s real hard to leave him, but I do it.

  Lucy and Cara meet me at the door. I’m really happy to see that my best cousin Lucy decided to come to the party after all.

  “Come in!” Cara says, taking my overnight bag. “We’re getting ready to have our hair done.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “This party is going to be like going to the beauty shop!” Lucy says. “After our hair, we’re getting our nails and makeup done.”

  “Ooh la la!” I say.

  We all giggle. Then we head inside.

  When all the guests arrive, Cara’s mom braids our hair. Not regular braids, but French braids. They are like the plain ones, just fancier.

  We pass hand-held mirrors around. When she sees her hair in the braids, Lucy gushes, “I look like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz!”

  “You don’t have a little dog like Toto,” I remind her.