A Very Unexpected Turn of Events

Two weeks before the beginning of spring break, Tony’s mother suddenly announced that she would rather not go on the adventure vacation. Tony was so surprised that he had a coughing fit.

“Why?” he asked once he’d recovered.

Thoughts went rushing through his mind. Going away without his mother would mean that he could move around much more freely and would not have to account for everything he did. Best of all, he would be able to meet up with Anna and Rudolph much more easily, because his father didn’t believe in vampires!

Tony had to bite his tongue not to let his mother know how excited he was about this unexpected turn of events.

“Well,” he heard his mother say, “I’m afraid it’s all too rustic for me!”

“Rustic? What does that mean?”

“I like to have my hot showers, my coffee in the morning when I get up, my soft-boiled egg, and honestly, I’d rather sleep in a bed than in a sleeping bag,” she answered, laughing sheepishly, as if she were embarrassed about being so high-maintenance. Tony was thrilled that she didn’t seem interested in the adventure.

“Do you think that you and your dad can manage without me?” she asked.

“Of course we can!” said Tony. “You gave me that book, remember?” he reminded her, to make sure she didn’t change her mind again.

His mother smiled gratefully. “Maybe it’s not a bad thing if you two go away together without me. Dr. Crustbrusher agrees that it could be very interesting.”

“Well, if Dr. Crustbrusher says that,” Tony remarked, “then it must be true!” The psychologist was slowly growing on him. What was more, since Tony’s parents had been seeing Dr. Crustbrusher once a week, they had become much friendlier and more understanding. Sometimes even exciting, surprising things happened—like this!

“What does Dad think?” Tony asked.

“He said we had to check with you first, because the vacation was your Christmas present. But if you’re okay with it, I think your dad would like to go on vacation alone with you!”

Tony smiled to himself. “Me too!” he said.

It was just a pity that he couldn’t tell Anna and Rudolph about it right away. But he hadn’t seen Anna since Christmas, and Rudolph had not come to bring the cape back yet. If Tony had had the vampire cape, he might have flown to Misery Valley by himself. But he only had his bike now, and it would take him half a day to get there—or even longer. All he could do was wait for spring break to start.