By the time Chloe and Dad had to leave for dinner, Charlie seemed like he was feeling better. Chloe could tell by the way he waited by his food dish, wagging his tail expectantly. “Just a little bit, Charlie,” she told him as she measured a few spoonfuls of his special food into the bowl. “Then you can have a little more at bedtime with your medicine.”

A few minutes later, Chloe and Dad set off toward the lodge. Small diamond-shaped lights illuminated the path, gleaming in the darkness. Up on the hill, the lodge glowed with light, and Chloe could imagine how cozy and warm it would be inside. Chloe realized two things at the same time: It was really, really cold, and she was really, really hungry. She started walking faster.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Chloe decided to thaw by the roaring fire in the lobby while Dad checked in with the maître d’. She glanced around the lobby, but there was no sign of Jessica or Sandy. Maybe Sandy didn’t want to come to dinner, either, Chloe thought.

Just then, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Chloe was surprised when she saw Jessica—and not Dad—standing behind her. “I thought that was you,” Jessica said with a warm smile.

“Hi, Jessica,” Chloe replied. She glanced around but didn’t see Sandy anywhere. Maybe she really did stay at their cottage, Chloe thought.

“Sandy and I got here a little early, so we’ve already been seated,” Jessica said, almost as if she could read Chloe’s thoughts. “Come with me. The menu is amazing—it’s going to be hard to decide what to order.”

“Dad—” Chloe began.

“I already pointed him in the right direction,” Jessica assured her. “But we’d better hurry before he and Sandy eat all the bread!”

Jessica kept talking as she led Chloe through the dining room. “How was your afternoon? Did you get some rest?” she asked.

“A little,” Chloe replied. “How about you?”

“Yes, thankfully,” Jessica replied. “I’m happy to report that there’s no risk of my falling asleep in my entree tonight.”

“Well, that’s good,” Chloe replied. “But what about dessert?”

Jessica held up her hands. “I can’t make any promises,” she replied. Then she and Chloe started laughing at the same time.

Jessica’s pretty cool, Chloe thought. And funny, too. I can see why Dad likes her so much.

They were still laughing when they arrived at their table, which was tucked in a corner between another fireplace and an enormous picture window overlooking the mountainside. Chloe sat in a chair across from Sandy, who seemed really interested in her napkin all of a sudden.

“Hi,” Chloe said.

“Hey,” Sandy replied, not looking up.

“So what did you do this afternoon?” Chloe asked Sandy.

Sandy shrugged. “Nothing. Hung out.”

There was nowhere to go from there. Chloe couldn’t even think of a follow-up question. She gazed out the window at the dark winter sky, where far-off stars twinkled in the frosty night, and tried not to sigh. I guess we’re picking up right where we left off, she thought.

“I was just telling Sandy about my shopping spree,” Dad said, trying to lighten the mood. “Every allergy medicine in the gift shop! I could set up my very own pharmacy now. Specializing in allergy relief, of course.”

“You probably won’t need it, though,” Sandy said. She was still staring at the table. “It’s not like Elsa can even come out of my room when you’re around. You’ll probably never see her again.”

Chloe snuck a glance at Jessica, who did not look pleased. But she simply took a deep breath and turned to Chloe. “Speaking of our sparring pets, how’s Charlie’s nose?” she asked.

“His nose?” Chloe repeated, momentarily forgetting about the scratch Elsa had given him. “Oh! Right! It seems fine. It’s not bothering him at all. I’m more worried about…” Chloe’s voice trailed off. It didn’t seem appropriate to talk about Charlie’s upset stomach at the dinner table.

“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked.

“Charlie’s got some chronic health problems,” Dad explained. “Usually they’re pretty much under control, but he was showing some symptoms this afternoon.”

“Oh no!”

Everyone turned to look at Sandy. To Chloe’s surprise, she looked genuinely concerned—like she really cared about what happened to Charlie. “Is that what you were telling me about this afternoon?” Sandy asked Chloe.

Chloe nodded. “I just don’t know what made him sick,” she explained. “He’s been taking his medicine and eating his special diet—just like at home. Nothing is different.”

“He was only sick once,” Dad added. “I bet it had to do with all the stress and excitement of the trip. Besides his walks around our neighborhood, old Charlie doesn’t get out much.”

“I hope it wasn’t Elsa’s fault,” Sandy said, sounding worried. “Poor Charlie. I bet it was really stressful to get attacked by a cat.”

“Well, Charlie wasn’t exactly blameless,” Dad said with a chuckle. “Hopefully he’s learned his lesson… and some better manners, too. Anyway, he seemed fine by the time we left for dinner. I’m not worried.”

I wish I could say the same, Chloe thought.

The waiter was hovering nearby, so everyone paused to examine the menu. After they placed their orders, Jessica pulled some brochures out of her purse.

“Sandy and I picked these up in the lobby,” she explained as she passed them around the table. Chloe took one, even though she’d spent so much time on the resort website that she could have recited all the activities by heart.

“There’s so much to do here!” Jessica continued. “I wish we could stay for a whole week. One weekend won’t be long enough to even scratch the surface.”

“So we’ll just have to pack the most fun into tomorrow that we can,” Dad said.

“Before the big party,” Chloe added. She didn’t want to miss the fancy Christmas party that the lodge threw every year. The pictures online were amazing.

“Yeah!” Sandy spoke up. “I got a new dress and everything.”

“Me too!” Chloe exclaimed. “What does yours look like? Mine is cranberry and it has long sleeves.”

“Mine is long-sleeved, too, but it’s emerald green,” Sandy told her.

“I bet that looks amazing with your eyes,” Chloe said.

Sandy flashed her a smile, obviously pleased by the compliment. “Thanks! That’s why I picked that color,” she replied.

“Okay, party girls,” Dad said in his teasing voice. “Our plans for tomorrow evening are clearly set in stone. But what about the rest of the day? Any thoughts?”

“I really, really, really want to go snow tubing,” Sandy said right away. “I’ve never been before, but I saw some videos online and it looks like so much fun.”

“Yeah! I’ve never been snow tubing, either,” Chloe said. “And I’d love to try skiing, too.”

“I read some reviews about the winter sports here,” Jessica spoke up. “Apparently, the lines for snow tubing are really long. If we go snow tubing, we might not have time for anything else, like shopping or skiing.”

There was a pause before anyone spoke. Then Dad turned to Chloe. “I know you were really looking forward to skiing,” he said. “But would you mind saving that for another trip? Maybe next winter?”

“I—” Chloe began. But Jessica was already talking.

“Actually, I’d love to go skiing, too,” she said. “Maybe we could hit the slopes in the morning—and the shops in the afternoon! What do you think?”

Chloe grinned. That sounded like a great plan to her. But just as she was about to respond, she noticed Sandy’s face. At first glance, it appeared frozen, like Sandy didn’t want to show anyone how she was feeling. But there was so much pain in her eyes as she stared at Jessica that even Chloe could see it across the table.

“You know, let’s all go snow tubing instead,” Chloe said, making a split-second decision. “We can go shopping anytime. And skiing’s not that important to me. I mostly want to do something outside, in the snow. If the lines for snow tubing are so long, it must be really incredible.”

Dad reached over and gave Chloe’s hand a quick squeeze. “You sure?” he asked in a low voice.

“Definitely,” Chloe replied, smiling so big her cheeks hurt. “Snow tubing is going to be awesome!”

She looked over at Sandy again, hoping that they could get back on track.

But Sandy, still staring at Jessica, didn’t seem to notice that Chloe was trying to catch her eye.

And she didn’t say a word.

No matter what anyone did, Sandy was practically silent for the rest of the meal. It was exhausting trying to carry on a conversation when one person refused to participate—and the harder everyone tried, the more sullen and silent Sandy stayed. Chloe couldn’t wait for dinner to end.

“Can I interest anyone in dessert?” the waiter asked as he cleared their plates. “In addition to our dessert menu, the special tonight is hot-chocolate cake topped with peppermint ice cream.”

“Hot chocolate in cake form?” Dad said, smiling at Chloe. “I know somebody who will want to try that!”

Ordinarily, Dad would’ve been right. But tonight, Chloe didn’t want to stay at dinner one minute longer than she had to… and not just because Sandy was acting so unfriendly.

“Actually, Dad, could we skip dessert tonight?” Chloe spoke up. “I want to get back to the cottage and make sure Charlie’s still feeling better.”

“That’s the best reason for skipping dessert that I ever heard,” Dad said, standing up. “Excuse us, ladies. We need to check on our furry patient.”

“We’ll walk back with you,” Jessica said, signaling the waiter for the check.

“But, Mom—can’t we stay for dessert?” Sandy asked. It was the first time she’d spoken a full sentence in almost an hour.

Annoyance flickered across Jessica’s face. “I—”

“Of course you should!” Dad said. “No reason why we all need to miss out.”

Once again, Dad and Jessica exchanged a look. Chloe had a feeling they’d be texting later.

“Okay,” Jessica finally said. “See you at breakfast tomorrow.”

“I hope Charlie is okay,” Sandy spoke up, surprising everyone again.

“Thanks,” Chloe said stiffly. It wasn’t easy to keep up with Sandy’s moods.

Chloe was unusually quiet on the walk back to the cabin. It wasn’t just her worry about Charlie that was weighing so heavily on her. Now Chloe was dreading having to spend the entire day with Sandy tomorrow.

Luckily, Charlie was waiting for them at the front door. From the way his tail was wagging, Chloe could tell that Charlie felt just fine—and was ready for his nighttime stroll and a little more food.

“Good boy!” Chloe said approvingly as Charlie took big bites of his second small dinner. “Check it out, Dad! Charlie’s appetite is back!”

“And his energy, too,” Dad said with a laugh. He held up Charlie’s leash. “Who wants to go for a walk?”

“Here, I can take him,” Chloe offered, holding out her hand. “We’ll just take a walk around the cottage.”

“No, you stay inside where it’s warm,” Dad told her. “Charlie and I will be back in a few minutes.”

After Dad took Charlie out, the cottage seemed bigger and quieter than usual. Chloe wandered into the kitchen and filled the teakettle with water. Sharing a cup of tea with Dad every night was one of Chloe’s favorite bedtime rituals, so she’d made sure to pack their favorite kinds of tea.

The door opened then, and Dad and Charlie hurried inside out of the cold. “Good news,” Dad announced. “Charlie did great on our walk. He didn’t get sick at all!”

“That’s not good news—it’s great news,” Chloe replied with a smile. “I made tea.”

“I was hoping you would,” Dad said, rubbing his hands together. “It’s colder than it looks outside. I bet the temperature is in the single digits.”

When the tea was ready, Chloe and Dad carried the steaming mugs into the living room. Chloe curled up on the corner of the couch and stared into her cup. She didn’t want to burden Dad with her worries about Sandy—but she was having trouble thinking about anything else.

“I can’t believe the first day of our trip is over already,” Dad began.

“Mm-hmm,” Chloe said. She sipped her tea.

“Are you having fun?” asked Dad.

Chloe looked over at him and half smiled, half shrugged.

“That’s what I thought,” Dad replied. “You want to talk about it?”

“I guess,” Chloe said, though she wasn’t sure how to begin.

“Not quite what you expected?” Dad guessed.

“Yeah,” Chloe said. “Jessica’s great, though. Really great. I like her a lot.”

“Me too,” Dad said. In the moonlight, Chloe could see him smile. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

“But Sandy is—she’s—she’s impossible!” Chloe burst out. “It’s like I never know which Sandy I’m going to get. The friendly one? Or the unfriendly one? The one who laughs at my jokes? Or the one who acts like I don’t even exist? I don’t even know what to say or how to be around her. I’m, like, dreading spending the whole day with her tomorrow. It’s totally exhausting!”

Dad waited patiently until Chloe finished. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “This is one of those times when I can’t tell if you want advice or you just need to vent,” he told her.

“I’m not sure,” Chloe admitted. “Maybe both?”

“Well, my best dad advice for you is to continue on as you have,” he said. “Be yourself. You know—that funny, kind, clever Chloe that the whole world loves.”

Not the whole world, Chloe thought as she stirred her tea.

“Jessica thinks you’re amazing,” Dad said, which made Chloe feel better—a little better, anyway. “We both appreciate how hard you’ve been trying with Sandy. Don’t think we haven’t noticed.

“This is a big deal for all of us,” Dad continued, “and I’ll be honest—it’s not as easy as I expected it would be. It’s bringing up a lot of emotions for everybody—especially Sandy.”

“Why are her feelings more important than everybody else’s?” Chloe asked. “I get that it was stupid for me to hope she’d be my sis—I mean, my friend. But would it kill her to, I don’t know, stop making me feel like a speck of dirt? It’s like she came into this weekend hoping it would fail—and ready to do everything she could to make sure it did.”

“What do you mean?”

Chloe already wished she could take the words back, but it was too late now. Besides, she wasn’t in the habit of keeping secrets from Dad, and she wasn’t about to start because of Sandy.

“Sandy says her parents are getting back together,” Chloe said, hesitating a little. It was only when she heard those words aloud that she realized they could really, really hurt her dad’s feelings. And Chloe was pretty sure that Sandy was wrong… but what if she was actually right?

Luckily, Dad didn’t seem fazed.

“Poor Sandy,” Dad said. “I remember when I felt that way.”

Chloe scrunched up her face in confusion. “About Jessica?” she asked.

Dad’s booming laugh echoed through the room. “No! About my own parents,” he said. “They divorced when I was nine years old, remember? I was certain that they’d get back together. I mean, how could they not? We were a family, and family is forever.”

Chloe was very quiet. She knew that Nana and Poppy were divorced, but they’d been divorced for so long that she’d never really thought about it… or what it would’ve been like for her dad when he was a boy.

“A few years passed—but I didn’t give up hope. Then Poppy started dating Mimi, and Nana started dating Grandpa Dave, and when Poppy and Mimi got engaged they invited Nana and Dave to their wedding. That’s when I realized that Poppy and Nana definitely weren’t going to get back together. But that didn’t mean that our family was ruined or broken. It was just different. Bigger. And now I can’t imagine it any other way.”

“Do you think Sandy will ever feel that way?” Chloe asked.

“I hope so,” Dad replied. “It’s pretty exhausting to hold on to so much anger and pain. But it’s still early for Sandy to adjust to all the changes in her life. Jessica says we should give her time… which is pretty much all we can do.”

Chloe sipped her tea in silence, thinking about what her dad had said. In all the times she’d thought about this trip, it had never occurred to her that Sandy would be struggling with her own issues. If Sandy can’t try to make the trip work, Chloe decided, then I’ll have to try twice as hard.