Tiana's 5th Birthday

Chapter 1:  Visiting The Dream Shop To Pick Fabric For A Special Birthday Party Dress

Tiana is sooo excited…she hardly slept last night because she kept thinking about the magical day her mom had planned for them today.  In a few weeks, she was turning 5 years old.  That’s a big deal for a little girl because all her entire last year of life, she was told she wasn’t old enough…”you’re only 4, Tiana!”  They said that all the time…it seemed to be a standard response to her asking to do something they didn’t think she was ready for.  Well, in a few weeks, she will be 5 and they couldn’t say that anymore!

So, Tiana hopped out of bed and began to get ready for her day.  She and mom were going on an exciting adventure.  There was a big beach party being planned for her birthday and today they were shopping for invitations, decorations, party favors, and ordering a cake big enough to feed all her family and friends.  She also needed a special party dress.  She had begged and begged her mom to take her Tiki Kids, but mom kept saying, “We’ll see,” and “I’ll think about it.”  Then, last night, as mom tucked her into bed, she let it slip that she had, indeed, made an appointment with Tutu Lole, the proprietor of Tiki Kids, where Tutu lived and worked and where she designed and created the most beautiful tropical dresses that Tiana had ever seen.  Tiana was ecstatic and, when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of what her perfect 5^th birthday tropical party dress would look like. 

Later that day, after all errands were run and shopping was completed, Tiana and her mom headed over to the special parking lot that was close to Tiki Kids.  On their way to the shop, mom told Tiana about all the old stories about Tutu Lole and the Dream Shop which made Tiana want to go even more.  It sounded so mystical and magical and she couldn’t wait to meet Tutu Lole. 

Mom said Tutu Lole was a short, roundish grandma who always had a smile on her face and an offering of something sweet to eat or drink.  Bright pink lipstick was her daily makeup, and her long gray hair was always up in a bun.  Every day she wore a different version of the same colorful muumuu she had sewn with a unique fabric design you could never find in any store.  Everyone loved her and  the island kids called her grandma, but no one really knew where she came from or what her real name was.  “Tutu” means “Grandma” and “Lole” means “fabric” so she has always just been called Tutu Lole.  For as long as anyone can remember, Tutu had been around.  She was a mystical, magical grandmother figure that sewed beautiful island-style clothing with bright and colorful tropical fabrics. 

Everyone loved to drop in at Tiki Kids, not just because Tutu Lole was there, but because magical things happen there.  If you drop by to have tea or coffee with Tutu, there is always a table with a fresh pot and the exact number of cups waiting.  If you are visiting to pick out fabric, the best and most perfect fabric will be waiting for you on the fabric rack.  You can show up and mention that you need a special dress and Tutu will hand you a sketch of the perfect dress that she just happened to finish drawing, and it will be just what you were looking for!  And it seems like there is never a reason to go inside that tiny mysterious bamboo room where all the sewing magic happens.  Tiana couldn’t wait to see everything for herself.

The parking lot was on the outskirts of town and there weren’t a lot of businesses around that used it.  It was very small and most days it was pretty empty.  Surfers and other beachgoers used the lot, but it wasn’t very popular because you had to walk down a path surrounded by lots of palm trees, Monstera plants, Hibiscus bushes and other tropical greenery and ferns.  Serious surfers went around the long way because it was hard getting their surfboards through all the foliage. 

Tiana and her mom parked in the nearly empty lot and looked for the little wooden Tiki Kids sign next to a sandy, overgrown path that would lead to Tutu’s shop.  It was kind of a long walk to get to a store, maybe about 5 minutes, but then, Tiki Kids wasn’t really like a store…it was more of a beach hut or shack.  Tiana couldn’t explain it – she just new it was a magical place on a beautiful beach.

The longer Tiana and her mom walked, the more excited Tiana became.  She kept running ahead on the path and her mom had to keep calling her back.  Finally, the path opened up and there was the most beautiful, little, white-washed bamboo shack surrounded by green, leafy plants, colorful tropical flowers, white sand and lots of seashells.  Behind the shack, she could see the beach and the seashore and up the stairs to the deck there was a bamboo rack with a dozen or so tropical outfits hanging from it.  There were shelves and shelves of folded tropical shirts and outfits and there were places to sit and rest mixed in with beautiful tropical flowers in pots in bright, bold colors.  The entire place smelled like Plumerias and the ocean.  Three very friendly shop cats greeted them as they got to the stairs then back to their spots where they had been lounging and enjoying the sun.  To top everything off, there was a thatched roof sitting on top and a big pink and blue TIKI KIDS sign across the front of the shack.  Tiana was in love and never wanted to leave. 

“What do you think, Tiana?”, her mom asked.  About that time, Tutu Lole walked out of the door and pointed to a rack of 3 beautiful fabrics that were hanging on a large bamboo rack that was sitting right in front of the shack. One was turquoise like the ocean. One was lavender like the island flowers. And one was pink with cheerful pineapples dancing across it.  How did she miss seeing that rack when she walked up?  They had to have walked right past it.  It seemed to magically appear at the same time as Tutu Lole!

Tiana and her mom walked over to the fabric and Tiana slowly ran her fingers across the beautiful fabrics hanging on Tutu Lole's magical fabric rack.

She smiled.

She knew exactly which one she wanted.