AUGUST 6

Dear Dad,

I was totally bummed about losing “The Emily Song,” so I went to The Bookie to get some magazines to cheer myself up. But then I saw this one article about an abandoned dog that made me even more depressed. So I bought some treats for Mrs. Neederman’s poodles with my credit card, plus I got them the most adorable sailor outfits. Mrs. Neederman hugged me when I gave them to her.

I get sad just thinking about pets or people being sad. That’s why I have such a hard time at animal movies. Because if there’s an animal starring in it, you can bet the dog will die, or the horse won’t be able to race, or the mouse will be misunderstood. When I told this to Millie, she said, “I don’t like to get sad.”

“Sometimes we don’t have a choice,” I said.

“Emily, time to get off the phone!” Alice called out.

“Millicent, I have to go. Alice is forcing me to go on Neighborhood Watch again. Urgggg!!!!”

“Let’s go, Emily! We’re going to be late.” Alice was standing by the front door shouting.

Late to what? Catching criminals? I mean, what would we do if we saw someone committing a crime? Both start screaming and run away? One of the reasons we moved here, she said, was because it was so safe. It certainly isn’t safe from crazy mothers.

“What was it like the first time you saw Dad?” I asked as we headed out. “Was it love at first sight?”

I love thinking about the first time the two of you got together. It’s one of the few things you agree on. I used to get so sick of the both of you telling your story, how you’d finish each other’s sentences. Now I miss it.

Alice slowed down and turned off her flashlight. “I was writing my first big magazine article. Rolling Stone hired me to interview up-and-coming bands, and the Talky Boys were at the top of the list.” She smiled. “Your father was this garage-band grunge guy with gorgeous eyes and long, flowing blond hair. I was so nervous. The funny thing was, later he told me that he was the one who was scared because a muckety-muck big-time reporter was going to interview him. But when I showed up, he was shocked at how young I was.

“We went out for coffee and talked through lunch and dinner, and at the end of the evening I just knew that he was the one for me. Of course, I was in serious journalist mode, so we didn’t get involved until after I finished the article. By then I was totally smitten. Only I wasn’t sure if he felt the same way. After all, I had mousy brown hair, and I wore preppy clothes, and I wasn’t the groupie type. But the first time he kissed me, it felt so right. Like it was meant to be….”

Two months after that, you two were married. How romantic is that?

Alice just stared off at the stars, and for the first time since we got to Rancho Rosetta she looked relaxed. It wasn’t until we had walked two blocks and she tripped on her long skirt that she remembered to turn her flashlight back on.

When did the two of you become strangers? What happened? Does it just go away after twenty years of marriage?

I don’t ever want to stop feeling the way I do about Stanford Wong. When I think about him I feel all tingly inside. Wonderful thoughts take over and push away any bad feelings, and everything just seems right.

Ms. Martinez says that Romeo and Juliet has lots of complications. It’s about “star-crossed lovers.” I like the sound of that, even though I don’t know what it means. Juliet, Ms. Martinez told me, was only thirteen years old. That’s about my age. And to think, there was a famous play written about Juliet and her boyfriend. I still haven’t read it, but I plan to.

If I were a better writer, I’d write a play called Stanford and Emily. Or maybe I’d make it into a musical and you could write the songs. Maybe Alice could help with the writing. It would just be the three of us working on a project. Wouldn’t that be great? Think about it, okay? It would be totally professional, I promise.

Love,

Emily