"It nice to meet you," Samantha managed to get in. Her wish had come true! A best friend almost her own age to play with. She hugged Mama Veronica. "I wuv you."
"We're not done yet, sweetie." The man in black reached into the cake and this time pulled out a boy with shoulder-length hair the same color as Prudence's and even more freckles.
"This is my dopey twin brother, Wendell," Prudence said.
"Hi," Wendell said in a small voice. He cowered behind his sister, nibbling at his fingers. He was shorter than her by at least six inches, shorter than even Samantha. He was also thinner than his sister to the point Samantha thought she could see his ribs against his shirt.
"And I think we have one more," Mama Veronica said. The man reached into the cake; Samantha crossed her fingers for another girl like Prudence. Instead it was an older boy with a thick nest of brown hair that stuck up. His nose was running and he wiped it before offering a hand for Samantha to shake.
"Gwoss!" she said.
Mama Veronica took a napkin off the table, using it to wipe the boy's nose. "Now sweetie, be polite. This is Joey."
"Hi," Samantha said, dismissing him with a nod. She didn't want a stinkyhead like him around. His eyes started to water behind his glasses. At first she thought he was crying, but then he started to sneeze.
"Must be all the dust in there," he said, his voice nasal and shrill. Yuck. Couldn't Mama Veronica send him off with Helena and Phyllis to the kitchen? He was going to ruin the party with his germs.
An older girl with red hair curled like Samantha's came forward to put an arm around Joey. "I'll take him back to the cottage," she said. She took Joey away, the sound of his sneezes receding into the distance. The older girl flashed a worried look to Samantha, who stuck out her tongue in response.
Mama Veronica clapped her hands. "Now then, let's get this party started." She let Samantha cut the first piece, a great big lopsided hunk off the top for herself. "Wait until everyone else gets theirs before you start eating." She served the rest of the pieces, giving Prudence and Wendell pieces almost as big as Samantha's while everyone else got smaller ones. On each plate she dropped a scoop of ice cream, picking a flavor at random. "What kind do you want?"
"Aw of them," Samantha said. Mama Veronica dropped a spoonful of each onto Samantha's plate. As Samantha ate, Prudence talked and talked, her ice cream melting into a puddle on the plate.