Just Grace Goes Green (16 page)

SOME EXCELLENT BOTTLES THAT WERE MADE

The whole rest of the day was a blur. That is what Mom says when her day goes by
really fast and she can't think of any special one thing that stood out.

BIRTHDAY DINNER

I was ready to go to dinner way before it was time to leave. Mom said I had to wait at home until it was time to go. She let me watch an episode of
Unlikely Heroes
because she said she was tired of me pacing the floor.

How could I not be excited? It's pretty hard to be still when your brain is thinking of flaming volcanoes, twirling knives, great presents, and making your best friend's problem disappear.

WHAT WAS SURPRISING

When I was finally allowed to go to Mimi's house, Sammy was already there, and he had
on a shirt with buttons. I had never seen Sammy in a shirt that wasn't a T-shirt before. It almost made him not look like Sammy anymore.

I was glad that Mimi's parents were almost ready to go. I was way too excited to be just sitting around and waiting some more. Gwen said that she was going to open all her presents when we got back from dinner. Mimi's mom has a rule about presents being opened after you eat the birthday cake.

Both Gwen and Mimi were wearing new clothes that they got at the art fair. Mimi noticed my new purse and loved it, so I had to give her hers.

Of course Gwen noticed Mimi's right away. I could tell that she was wishing she had one too, so when Mimi's mom wasn't looking, I gave her hers.

Gwen went to the bathroom to open it
so Mimi's mom wouldn't see. Of course Mimi's mom noticed it as soon as she came out of the bathroom. Girls always notice fashion stuff, even grown-up lady girls. I forgot about that part.

Sammy went to get Max, and then finally we left.

WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT THE RESTAURANT

EVERYTHING!

SOME COOL TRICKS

Making a flaming volcano out of an onion.

Cutting up shrimp in the air and then throwing it right into your mouth.

Twirling a knife in the air and having it cut a hard-boiled egg.

WHAT ELSE IS FUN

Super-great fancy drinks in cool cups that you get to keep.

It was pretty much the most fun I had ever had at a restaurant. I didn't even really mind when Sammy's shrimp came flying over the table and landed in my water glass. Those chopsticks can be tricky ... plus it made everyone laugh.

At the end of the dinner all the restaurant people came over and sang a special Japanese happy birthday song for Gwen. Then they took our picture and put it in a card so she could keep it.

I am definitely going back there for my birthday.

BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

Mimi's mom made Gwen a purple cake, which was great because that's Gwen's favorite color, so of course she loved it. I was hoping that Gwen was going to open the present from her parents first because I really was dying to see what was inside. Gwen said she wanted to save it for the end, because it was the most special one. Plus, her parents were going to call at eight so that they could listen while she opened it. Knowing that made me want to see inside even more!

Suddenly I was feeling nervous about her opening my second present. I was glad that she was opening other stuff first.

Max gave her a journal and a fancy pen. Sammy gave her a cool wood and glass box that came with all sorts of craft supplies so
that you could decorate it yourself. It had a little secret drawer in the back which you could only open with a special code. It was hard to imagine Sammy picking out such a great present, but he said he had done it all by himself.

Finally it was time to open my present. "Another present from you?" asked Gwen. She was saying that because I had already given her the purse. Gwen is a careful opener, so it took her a few seconds to get the paper off.

"It's Owly!" said Mimi.

"I thought you sold it!" said Gwen. I could tell that she was happy to have it because she was smiling and she gave it a hug.

Just then the phone rang. Gwen ran to get it and was so excited that she almost tripped over all her birthday stuff that was on the floor. Mimi's mom put the phone on speakerphone so we all heard Gwen talking to her mom and dad.

It took her about two seconds to rip their birthday package open. She was not a careful opener anymore. All that was inside was a birthday card with a picture of a puppy on the front. Gwen opened the card and screamed! There was something exciting inside but none of us could figure out what it was. Mimi's mom took the phone off speakerphone so Gwen could talk to her parents in the kitchen. She was still doing
lots of screaming and saying "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Finally she came back and we could tell that she had been happy crying.

She held the birthday card out for us to see and said, "Look! Look! Isn't he cute?" "Very cute," said Mimi's mom. "What are you going to name him?"

And then we all understood. Mimi screamed, "You got a puppy? A real puppy!" Now everyone was excited! I couldn't believe it! I didn't even know Gwen wanted a puppy. A puppy was the best birthday present ever. I wanted one. Mimi wanted one. Max probably wanted one. Everyone loves puppies.

"I get to pick him up next week," said Gwen. For the whole rest of the night we could not stop talking about the puppy. We all wished he were there at that very minute.
Well, probably all of us except for one, because Sammy doesn't like dogs.