"Done," I said to myself.

I shut the journal. I ran my finger down my list of things to do. WRITE JOURNAL ENTRY was the second to last thing. I crossed it off.

The last thing on the list was KISS TIGGER GOOD-BYE.

Tigger is my kitten. He's gray and white and my absolute favorite creature on the whole earth.

I know he sensed what was going to happen. He had this sad look in his eyes, and he hadn't let me out of his sight since I'd gotten home from school.

"Ohhhh, Tiggy." I picked him up and wrapped him in my arms.

Meeeeew? he said with this fragile, confused tone.

Forget it. I could feel my heart just fall apart. Tears swam down my cheeks. "I'll be back."

We stayed like that for awhile. Then I looked at my clock. Four-fifteen. Our plane was due to leave at seven, and we needed to allow time to get to the airport and pick up our tickets.

I put Tigger down gently and ran downstairs. "Dad? Sharon? I'm ready."

Dad appeared at the foot of the stairs, looking at his watch. "Uh, we're not driving to California, honey. We have a few hours."

"But we have to pick up Kristy and Claudia," I said, "and what if we hit traffic on the way to the airport?"

Dad sighed and began trudging upward. "Okay, I'll bring down your suitcase. Since you want to leave us so badly — "

"No, I don't. If s just that — "

Sniff, sniff. Dad was pretending to cry. I could see his lips curling up into a smile.

From the kitchen, my stepmother called, "Richard, stop it."

Sharon was smiling. (So was I. Dad can be pretty goofy when he wants to, but we still love him.) She was busily packing a lunch bag. "Brownies for your trip," she said. "You don't get much to eat on these flights."

"Great." I tried to sound enthusiastic. The last time Sharon made brownies, she forgot to put in eggs. They tasted like chocolate rubber. (Sharon is soooo sweet, but she can be a little absent-minded.)