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Authors: Jeanne Birdsall
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it’s for his own good.”
“I guess so, for though it is a mean and dishonorable plan, still, it is ultimately kinder.”
“I don’t know,” said Skye, who didn’t want to go down in family history as the one who came up with a mean and dishonorable plan. “You never use my ideas. Why this one?”
“Because there are no better ideas,” said Rosalind. “Are there?”
Skye frantically ran through several more possibilities, all of them wilder even than murder. “No,” she admitted finally.
“As I thought. Let’s take a vote. Batty, what say you?”
They all looked at Batty, who had finished the ginger cookies and was now digging crumbs out of her pocket and feeding them to Hound.
“I say Daddy should date the lady next door, and then I could play with her baby.”
“Iantha?” Rosalind was incredulous. “Honey, we don’t want Daddy going out with anyone from Gardam Street. Besides, that’s not what we’re talking about.”
“On top of that, we don’t know that Iantha’s not married,” said Jane. “Her husband could be—well, lost in the Bermuda Triangle and she sits, weeping, at an upstairs window every night, peering out into the darkness, hoping and praying he’ll someday come back to her. Or he could be in prison, falsely accused—”
Rosalind interrupted her. “Iantha’s husband died, remember? Daddy told us. But we’re supposed to be voting on Skye’s Save-Daddy Plan, which would rule out Iantha anyway, because she’s not awful. Now, Batty, how do you vote, yes or no?”
“This won’t be an official vote,” said Skye, still hoping for an escape. “Since Batty clearly doesn’t understand what we’re voting about.”
“I do, too, understand. Rosalind wants to find creepy ladies for Daddy so we don’t have to worry about stepmothers.” Batty popped the last of the crumbs into her own mouth. “I vote yes.”
“And I vote yes,” said Rosalind. “That’s two for Skye’s plan.”
“And I make three votes,” said Jane. “Sorry, Skye.”
Skye groaned loudly, but Rosalind thumped for order until she stopped.
“So speak I, Rosalind,” she said. “It’s a majority. The Save-Daddy Plan is official and in place.”
Now they had to find an awful date, which turned out to be not so easy. Everyone they could think of was too young or too old, or already married, or not awful enough. And the few who seemed just right could cause problems afterward. For example, the librarian at Cameron Library who never let them check out more than five books at a time. What if she got mad at them after a bad date and lowered their limit to four books, or even three? That would be a disaster. Or Jane’s teacher, Miss Bunda, who Jane figured would make the most awful date ever. For if Jane was getting bad marks on her essays before a bad date with their father, what would it be like afterward?
Defeated, they decided they needed outside help. But who could be trusted on such a private and sensitive matter? After much racking of brains, Rosalind suggested Anna.
“Great.” Skye wasn’t any closer to liking the Save-Daddy Plan. “Maybe she can lend us her father’s former wives.”
“At least we’d know how awful they are,” retorted Rosalind, whose headache was coming back. “MOPS dismissed.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Skating Coach and an Orange Cat
A FTER SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY , Rosalind asked Anna to come home with her. “For advice,” she explained, and Anna accepted happily. She always jumped at the opportunity to give advice, as she was the youngest in her family—her two older brothers were away at college—and she had no one to tell what to do, not even a pet.
They picked up Batty at Goldie’s and walked home. When Skye and Jane arrived, too, everyone gathered in the kitchen for snacks and to lay out the Save-Daddy Plan for Anna.
“So you’re looking for a date Mr. Pen won’t like,” said Anna when they were done. “Interesting concept. I should have tried it with
“I guess so, for though it is a mean and dishonorable plan, still, it is ultimately kinder.”
“I don’t know,” said Skye, who didn’t want to go down in family history as the one who came up with a mean and dishonorable plan. “You never use my ideas. Why this one?”
“Because there are no better ideas,” said Rosalind. “Are there?”
Skye frantically ran through several more possibilities, all of them wilder even than murder. “No,” she admitted finally.
“As I thought. Let’s take a vote. Batty, what say you?”
They all looked at Batty, who had finished the ginger cookies and was now digging crumbs out of her pocket and feeding them to Hound.
“I say Daddy should date the lady next door, and then I could play with her baby.”
“Iantha?” Rosalind was incredulous. “Honey, we don’t want Daddy going out with anyone from Gardam Street. Besides, that’s not what we’re talking about.”
“On top of that, we don’t know that Iantha’s not married,” said Jane. “Her husband could be—well, lost in the Bermuda Triangle and she sits, weeping, at an upstairs window every night, peering out into the darkness, hoping and praying he’ll someday come back to her. Or he could be in prison, falsely accused—”
Rosalind interrupted her. “Iantha’s husband died, remember? Daddy told us. But we’re supposed to be voting on Skye’s Save-Daddy Plan, which would rule out Iantha anyway, because she’s not awful. Now, Batty, how do you vote, yes or no?”
“This won’t be an official vote,” said Skye, still hoping for an escape. “Since Batty clearly doesn’t understand what we’re voting about.”
“I do, too, understand. Rosalind wants to find creepy ladies for Daddy so we don’t have to worry about stepmothers.” Batty popped the last of the crumbs into her own mouth. “I vote yes.”
“And I vote yes,” said Rosalind. “That’s two for Skye’s plan.”
“And I make three votes,” said Jane. “Sorry, Skye.”
Skye groaned loudly, but Rosalind thumped for order until she stopped.
“So speak I, Rosalind,” she said. “It’s a majority. The Save-Daddy Plan is official and in place.”
Now they had to find an awful date, which turned out to be not so easy. Everyone they could think of was too young or too old, or already married, or not awful enough. And the few who seemed just right could cause problems afterward. For example, the librarian at Cameron Library who never let them check out more than five books at a time. What if she got mad at them after a bad date and lowered their limit to four books, or even three? That would be a disaster. Or Jane’s teacher, Miss Bunda, who Jane figured would make the most awful date ever. For if Jane was getting bad marks on her essays before a bad date with their father, what would it be like afterward?
Defeated, they decided they needed outside help. But who could be trusted on such a private and sensitive matter? After much racking of brains, Rosalind suggested Anna.
“Great.” Skye wasn’t any closer to liking the Save-Daddy Plan. “Maybe she can lend us her father’s former wives.”
“At least we’d know how awful they are,” retorted Rosalind, whose headache was coming back. “MOPS dismissed.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Skating Coach and an Orange Cat
A FTER SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY , Rosalind asked Anna to come home with her. “For advice,” she explained, and Anna accepted happily. She always jumped at the opportunity to give advice, as she was the youngest in her family—her two older brothers were away at college—and she had no one to tell what to do, not even a pet.
They picked up Batty at Goldie’s and walked home. When Skye and Jane arrived, too, everyone gathered in the kitchen for snacks and to lay out the Save-Daddy Plan for Anna.
“So you’re looking for a date Mr. Pen won’t like,” said Anna when they were done. “Interesting concept. I should have tried it with
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