I’ll tell you the answer when you call!
Love you,
Dad
Madison shut off the computer and dashed downstairs to the living room. She checked the answering machine, which was blinking frantically. She dialed Dad’s number.
What did Dad have to tell her that he couldn’t say in e-mail?
Dad would never put important things in e-mail. He liked to talk about things in person, or at least on the phone.
“Hey, sweetie,” Dad whispered as he picked up the phone. “How’s my little girl?” He always called her that, much to Madison’s dismay. She thought of herself as slightly more sophisticated, especially since junior high began.
“What’s up with you, Dad?” Madison asked back. “By the way, the answer to your riddle is you get a lot of drumsticks when you cross an octopus and a turkey!”
Dad laughed. Then he told her about work being busy as ever. He had purchased a new wok for his kitchen.
“I was thinking about making stir-fry turkey this Thanksgiving,” Dad said.
“Very funny. Dad,” Madison replied, half laughing.
He followed up with another joke. “Hey, Maddie, why was the turkey included as a member of the band?”
“What band?” Madison groaned. “Okay. Why?”
“Because he had all the drumsticks.” Dad laughed out loud. “Get it?”
It was maybe the dumbest joke Dad had told in the longest time, but suddenly Madison felt choked up. She wasn’t sure if she got teary with the mention of Thanksgiving, or if she had a sudden surge of missing Dad, since he hadn’t been around much lately.
“I really wish we could—” Madison swallowed the words. “I wish we could spend Thanksgiving together. Dad.”
Dad got silent on the other end of the phone line. “Gee, Maddie—”
Madison interrupted. “Oh, forget I said that. That was so dumb.”
“No. What’s going on? Is something bugging you?” Dad asked.
“You mean besides homework and my friend Egg?” Madison blurted, trying to shift gears and change the subject.
“Huh? You lost me,” Dad said.
Madison took a deep breath. “I miss you. Dad. So much.”
She could hear him take a deep breath through the phone, too. “I know,” Dad said. “I know you do.”
“So why can’t I spend Thanksgiving with you—and your family?” Madison asked.
“My family? What? Madison, we’ve been over this. The lawyers’ arrangement says—”
“I don’t care what it says,” Madison cried. “I don’t want to spend Thanksgiving in this house if YOU can’t be here. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a family holiday, and I don’t want to spend Thanksgiving alone with no one but Mom because … I just don’t want to. I don’t.”
Dad took another loud breath. “Madison?” he asked sweetly.
Madison was afraid of what he might say. She’d let all her feelings come tumbling out at once. They’d taken her by surprise.
“Why don’t we talk about it at dinner tomorrow night,” Dad said, trying to change the subject. “And about that dinner …”
Madison gulped. “Yeah?”
“I was going to bring Stephanie,” Dad said.
Madison was silent.
Dad quickly recovered. “Unless you don’t want me to. I mean, it can just be you and me alone, Maddie. You tell me.”
But Madison didn’t quibble. She agreed to have dinner with them both. It was hard to have anything but good feelings for Dad’s girlfriend when she always came with a little present for Madison like flea-market earrings made from glass and asked lots of fun questions about school and boys and life in general. Stephanie seemed so interested in what Madison thought and believed. She was pretty, too, with perfect fingernails.
“Hey!” Mom walked in, carrying an armful of groceries. “Who’s on the phone?”
“No one,” Madison fibbed, covering the receiver. Then she admitted the truth. “Just Dad.”
“Oh,” Mom said, walking into the kitchen. Madison could hear her pushing vegetables into the refrigerator bins.
“Bye, Dad,” Madison said into the phone quickly. “I have to go help Mom make dinner. She just got home.”
Mom asked her to help boil water for the ziti while she cut up lettuce and tomatoes for salad.
“I was talking to Dad about Thanksgiving,” Madison said, filling a pot.
“Oh,” Mom replied. “Does he have plans?”
Madison put water on the stove and added a little olive oil to separate the boiling pasta. It was a trick Gramma had shown her. “Actually, he didn’t really talk about Thanksgiving.”
Madison wasn’t sure why she lied, but she did.
“Oh,” Mom said for a third time. “Well, I’m sure he’ll be spending it with that girlfriend of his.”
“Her name is Stephanie,” Madison added. She could tell when Mom didn’t want to talk. Whenever she “forgot” someone’s name, it meant the subject should be changed.
“So where’s Phin?” Mom asked. “We should walk him before supper.”
“Phin?” Madison whirled around, half expecting to find him by her feet, but the pug wasn’t there. “I dunno. I saw him a while ago….”
“He’s been acting funny lately. Have you noticed?” Mom said. She had been taking Phin for long walks during the afternoons when Madison went to volunteer at the shelter.
“I haven’t noticed anything,” Madison said.
“It’s probably nothing.” Mom shook her head. “He’s probably just a little jealous. You’re giving all your attention to the other dogs now.”
Madison giggled. “Mom, don’t be ridiculous. Phinnie doesn’t know what I’m doing.”
The phone rang again and Madison grabbed it. “House of Finn,” she cried into the receiver spontaneously. She looked across at Mom, who was chuckling a little now, too. Lately they’d been goofing around when answering the phone. One night Mom had picked it up and said, “Finn Land.” They almost fell on the floor, laughing so hard.
But Egg was the one on the phone, and he didn’t get what was funny at all.
“House of what?” Egg said.
“Oh, it’s you.” Madison faked a growl.
“What is your problem, Maddie?” he asked. “You can’t still be mad about me being late. I said sorry like a hundred times already.”
“You said sorry twice. That is not a hundred times,” Madison said.
She and Egg bickered some more. Ten minutes later, they came to an agreement to meet the next day after school to talk about the Mayflower. They’d meet in Mrs. Wing’s computer lab so they could use the Internet. No one would bother them.
“Don’t forget, Egg, please be on time. I don’t want to wait around forever,” Madison said.
“Yeah, yeah, I KNOW,” he grumbled.
Madison tried to soften the tone a little bit. “This project will be awesome—I know it,” she said reassuringly.
“Of course it will!” Egg said. He sounded encouraged, so she hung up the phone and sat down to dinner.
“Is this a little sticky, or is it me?” Mom asked when she tasted dinner. “We’ll keep practicing, right, honey bear?”
The pasta was overcooked, but Madison ate two helpings.
Right before bed, Madison powered up her laptop.
Mom v. Dad
Rude Awakenings: It’s hard to be fair and square when you feel like part of a triangle.
Am I being fair to Mom? She is trying so hard to make dinners and to be nice letting me volunteer and taking Phin for walks. Do I say thank you and please enough? I made this whole huge deal about wanting to spend Thanksgiving with Dad and now … everything is different. I just want to have turkey on Thanksgiving and to make them both happy. Am I making Mom sad? Is Dad sad? How am I supposed to be?
Madison hit SAVE and logged on to TweenBlurt.com. She was in search of a friend—and a little perspective. Bigwheels was online! She messaged her keypal, hoping fo
r some wiser-than-wise advice.
Madison logged off her computer and got under the covers. She pictured herself walking Phin and Sugar and Pavlov and Blinky and the rest of the dogs at the same time. She was pulling their leashes and laughing in the November breeze.
This wasn’t just any dream.
It was a sweeter-than-sweet dream.
Chapter 7
Animals
Rude Awakening: The not-so-dreamy thing about dreams is that you wake up.
Today I had a yucky quiz in math that I was 100 percent unprepared for! Grrrr. I should have studied harder and I wish I’d studied harder BUT I haven’t had time. I have been going to the clinic more than once a week. I have to make time to study more. I don’t want Mom to tell me that I have to stop going to the clinic!
Animals understand me way better than Mom and Dad do. Better than anyone.
Madison checked the clock in Mrs. Wing’s classroom and then saved the update to her Animals file. It was a Friday afternoon, and Madison and Egg had made specific arrangements to discuss their extra-credit social studies project. Here. Now.
So where was he?
Madison glanced through the pile of books she’d borrowed from the library. They were stacked on the desk in front of her. One book was a retelling of the entire Mayflower journey with reenactment photos. Another book included a complete list of passengers. A Thanksgiving craft workbook even had instructions on making a diorama of the actual Mayflower ship.
Madison hoped Egg would come with inspired Thanksgiving ideas of his own that could complement hers. That’s what being partners was all about.
Where was he?
By three-thirty, Egg still hadn’t arrived—and Madison got a sinking feeling … like she was sunk. She bent down to grab her orange bag. As she sat up, she saw Egg walking into the computer lab, humming. Humming? He didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
Madison glared.
“Hey,” he said. Then he noticed the look on her face. “What’s your problem?” he asked.
Madison stuffed the books into her bag.
“What is it?” Egg asked, taking a seat right next to her. “Is this because I’m late? What time is it? Three o’clock?”
Madison laughed a loud “HA!” and zipped her bag. “Yes, Egg, you are late,” she said simply. “Later than late. It’s three-thirty-five.”
He grabbed her arm. “I lost track of time. Really.”
“Well, I’m asking Mrs. Belden for a new partner,” Madison said a little dramatically. “I’m asking tomorrow before class.”
“Maddie, don’t be like that.” Egg hung his head. “I said I was sorry and you’re dropping me?”
“How can you just forget that we’re supposed to meet?”
“I’m so sorry, Maddie. I didn’t forget completely.”
Madison slung her book bag over her shoulder. “Well, I don’t know. That’s what you always say.”
“Please. We’ll do the project. I swear I won’t ever be late again,” Egg pleaded. “PLEASE?”
Madison put her bag back on the desk. “You mean it?” she said.
Egg nodded. “Cross my heart and stick a needle in my—”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “But this really is the last time. Egg.”
They took seats at the study table in the corner of Mrs. Wing’s classroom and opened their notebooks. Madison yanked a small pile of Mayflower books and her notebook out of her orange bag.
Egg just sat there, rolling a pencil between his fingers.
He hadn’t brought any backup materials.
“Wait a minute. You said you were bringing books.” Madison tried to remain as calm as possible, but it was getting harder to do that.
“I never said that,” Egg replied quickly, a little defensive.
“Yes, you did!” Madison said. “Egg, are you for real?”
Egg rolled his eyes. “I NEVER said that I was bringing any books. Really.”
“Thanks for nothing,” Madison said under her breath. She stood up, put the books into her bag, and got ready to go for real this time.
Egg followed her out of the classroom into the hallway, but when she continued to ignore him, he turned on his heel and left.
A moment later, Fiona appeared at the lockers. She’d stayed late for indoor soccer practice.
“Weren’t you meeting Egg after school?” Fiona asked. She always wanted the inside information on Egg’s every move.
Right now the last person Madison wanted to talk about was Egg.
“I absolutely refuse to even say his name,” Madison snapped, walking fast. Fiona hustled alongside her.
“What’s wrong?” Fiona said. “Are you mad about something? Are you mad at me?”
Madison stopped. She apologized by giving Fiona a quick hug. She hadn’t meant to snap. Everything this Thanksgiving season was leaving Madison extra stressed.
“I’m sorry,” Madison said. “I’m just feeling a little stressed out. How was soccer?”
“I got two goals in our scrimmage. I like indoor almost as much as outdoor soccer.”
“You wanna walk home together?” Madison asked. She was ready to leave school—and the Egg incident—far behind her. It felt better walking home with a BFF like Fiona.
“Maddie, what’s up with you and Dan?” Fiona asked. “I meant to ask you in school today. I see you guys together a lot lately.”
Madison laughed. “Me and Dan? What do you mean?”
“Aimee and I were wondering if maybe you like him,” Fiona said. “You’ve been hanging out with him at the clinic all week. And he’s always talking about you, too.”
“What? I don’t like Dan that way,” Madison said. “He’s like a brother.”
“He’s not like MY brother.” Fiona smiled. “But that’s a good thing….”
“How’s your project coming along with Daisy for social studies?” Madison asked.
Fiona started babbling about how she and Daisy were planning an amazing oral report on Sarah Hale. Sarah Hale was a woman who spoke up about the values of Thanksgiving during the Civil War. She helped convince President Abraham Lincoln to declare it a national holiday.
“I think I might dress up like Sarah Hale and Daisy might dress up like Abe Lincoln. We’re not sure yet. It’s been so much fun.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Madison moaned.
“And we’re going to read part of Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation from the wa
r, too. I almost forgot that part,” Fiona added.
Madison waved good-bye when they got to Fiona’s house. Walking away, she buttoned up her coat a little because the air was crisp. It was hard to believe that November was more than halfway over.
Much to her surprise. Dad was waiting in the driveway, arms folded, when Madison wandered up.
“I know we said five,” he said. “But I decided to come by early.”
Madison looked at her watch. “An hour early?” she exclaimed.
“Why don’t you run inside and get yourself together,” he said softly. “I’ll wait out here.”
“Why don’t you just come inside and wait, Daddy? Mom won’t mind. She’s so busy working, anyway.”
Cautiously Dad approached the front door, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever might await him inside. He hardly ever came back into 5 Blueberry Street anymore. The Big D was like a big roadblock.
Mom opened the door wide. “Hello, there,” she said. Phin squiggled out and went right for Dad, who leaned down to scratch the top of his coarse fur head.
“Hello, Frannie,” Dad said in a soft voice.
Mom opened the door wider and tried to smile. She ushered him inside.
Even though Mom and Dad were acting perfectly nice to each other, Madison felt all awkward when they were in a room together. She never knew what to say.
“I have to change,” Madison blurted.
Dad smiled. “Good idea.”
“Yes, we like our child dressed when she leaves the house,” Mom said.
Madison shrugged and dashed upstairs. She could hear Mom and Dad still chuckling moments afterward. It was strange to have them together in the house.
Quickly she ransacked her closet and pulled out her jean skirt with the purple patches and slipped into a pale yellow sweater and dark grape-colored clogs. She piled her hair into a purple clip and put on her moonstone earrings and moonstone ring, too. It was her special, lucky jewelry she’d gotten from Dad and Mom on separate occasions.
Phinnie was in the bedroom with Madison when she got ready, but he didn’t scurry over to her for kisses like he normally did. He lay on the floor, paws stretched out in front, eyes glazed over. He looked sad, Madison thought. She patted him on the head.
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