NOTE TO READER

MY HEART DROPPED when I saw his message. I’d completely forgotten about it. In fact, I remembered being a little annoyed when I’d received it. It was kind of weird. We could watch movies and do puzzles at home. And besides, when school was out, I was looking forward to hanging out with Kate and my other friends at the pool.

So I hadn’t responded to the email. Dad had asked me about it at dinner a few days later when Mom was working late, but I guess my lack of enthusiasm must have shown on my face, because he said, “Oh, don’t worry about it! We’ll do it another time.” And he’d never mentioned it again.

I felt so guilty. Why hadn’t I agreed to spend one weekend doing what my father had wanted? Why hadn’t I thought about my grandfather? Worst of all, I couldn’t shake the thought that if I had agreed to Dad’s plan, maybe he wouldn’t have disappeared.

And that’s when I came up with the idea.