Lost in Dreams by Roger Bruner Page A

… and of what? Had I totally turned him off, or had I gotten through to him in spite of thoughtless, unintentional disrespect?
    “Daddy, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
    “You’re forgiven if I am.”
    I crooked my eyebrows.
    “I was wrong, too. Faithless, anyhow. You really believe you can handle a trip like this?”
    “If my fatigue comes back, I’ll just sit around and supervise everyone else. I’ll be the highway worker who stands there watching everyone else work hard.”
    Aleesha howled. When she laughed that hard, nobody could resist joining in.
    “Baby girl, I still have reservations.”
    Jo jumped in. “What kind of father would you be if you didn’t?” Aleesha gave her a thumbs-up. I wondered if Jo was thinking about her mother’s overcautiousness, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
    “We can live on my income alone, Kim,” he said.
Huh? What’s that got to do with this?
“We’ll miss your mother’s when it comes to some of the extras, though.” I twisted my eyebrows in curiosity. “She paid for your car. I couldn’t have bought you such a nice one on my income alone.”
    No! Are you saying we’ll have to cut back on extras without Mom’s income? Is this trip an extra we can’t afford? What about the money you inherited from your mother? Did my trip to Mexico use up all that was left of it?
    Lord …?
    “At the same time,” Dad said, “your mom had better-than-average life insurance coverage through her job, and it pays double for accidental death. I had a similar policy on her. Bottom line: We have enough money to do this trip.”
    I looked at Aleesha and Jo. Could they afford it?
    Dad must have seen my concerned look. “All four of us, I mean. I think Terri would want that.”
    Only the deafest of our neighbors five blocks away could have failed to hear the whooping and cheering.
    We had plenty of planning to do, though, and I made mental lists off and on all night—how wonderful to be so awake for a change. And I felt wonderful the next morning, too. Wonderful and energetic.
    Thank You, Lord
.
    But one thing kept bugging me.

chapter twenty
    I wondered if things would be warmer in California. The relationship between Jo and Aleesha, that was. In spite of what I’d taken as good signs last night, Aleesha let me know privately that she wasn’t enthusiastic about having Jo come with us. I hoped that wouldn’t affect the success of the trip.
    “You ready, girl?” I asked as Dad and I got ready to head over to the Snellings’ house.
    “I’m not coming with you,” Aleesha said. “Huh? How come?”
    “What if Jo’s parents have the smell, too? I don’t want to be the reason they say no.”
    Dad must’ve heard her. “I’ve known the Snellings forever. They aren’t like that.”
    But Aleesha refused to change her mind, so we went without her.
    Dad rang the Snellings’ doorbell. I stood there shivering and thinking.
    “Scott, Kim, what a surprise.” Mr. Snelling ushered us into the living room, and Dad and I sat down without waiting to be invited. That was how it’s supposed to be at a friend’s house, wasn’t it?
    “Where’s Michelle?” Dad said.
    “Oh, she’s”—he shook his head—”uh, I don’t know.” He acted like he didn’t care, either, and that shocked me. I’d ask Dad about it later if I remembered to.
    “I understand you’re feeling much better now, Kim,” Mr. Snelling said, his words ending in a huge smile. I’d never felt
    comfortable calling him Josh, even though Jo had always called my parents by their first names. Behind their backs, anyhow. “I’m glad.”
    The degree of warmth in his voice told me
“I’m glad”
meant
“I couldn’t be happier.” As
much as Michelle Snelling liked to talk and as much as she had to say, he—maybe I’d do an Aleesha and refer to him as
Mr. Josh—had
probably had lots of practice keeping his comments short.
    He called Jo in from the kitchen, and the four of us enjoyed a few minutes