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the carpet rake twice a week to keep their plush pile from looking like a grimy doormat. Meanwhile, her dad was into
real
life. He loved all the things Daphne loved. Like movies and music and exciting stories.
    Daphne’s last birthday truly demonstrated for her the differences between her parents. Her mom had given her a thick envelope. Inside was a hokey card with lots of flowers and cursive writing talking about how a daughter is a daughter forever, blahbitty blah, and behind it she’d tucked a one-hundred-dollar savings bond. At first Daphne had thought it was like a check or a gift card and that she could use the money whenever and wherever she wanted. Then her mom explained that she couldn’t cash it in until she was grown and that she was supposed to use the money for tuition and books. Then—and this was the worst part of all—
she took it back!
Said she’d wanted to show it to Daphne, but that she would be keeping it in their safe-deposit box at the bank.
    It was the lamest present Daphne had ever gotten.
    Thank god her dad had shown up just a few minutes afterward and given her his present. His was also a fat envelope—a silly Snoopy card and a booklet full of free bowling passes. She’d been so moved she actually cried, and she couldn’t helpremembering all those times he’d taken her and Gabby to Thunder Alley; how they would bowl and eat chili dogs and hang out with guys who had their own balls and bags and drab, untucked shirts with names like Hank or Chuy stitched above the breast pockets. Gabby, of course, had hated those trips and spent most of the time reading some mystery novel. And their mom had always complained that their dad kept them out too late and among the wrong kinds of people. But Daphne had always loved it.
    Why couldn’t her mom give her meaningful gifts like that?
    “Are we going bowling today?” Daphne asked. Lately they’d been using the passes during his visits.
    “Sorry,
mija
. I don’t have enough time today. But let’s start with lunch, anyplace you want to go, and then we’ll see what we can do after.”
    Daphne felt a tiny thud of disappointment. “Just one game?”
    “We’ll see.”
    “I don’t want to. We went bowling last time,” Gabby said, stepping forward. She usually stood next to Mom whenever their dad showed, as if she thought the woman might faint at the sight of him and needed someone there to catch her. Or maybe it was just a way to remind Dad whose side she was on. Either way, Daphne thought it was mean. She wondered if Gabby had even bothered to hug him hello.
    “No one asked you,” Daphne snapped.
    “Hey, I get a say, too. This isn’t just about you.”
    “Girls,” Mom said in her warning voice. “No fussing. You agreed, remember?”
    The sisters held their tongues and resorted to glaring at each other.
    “How are things, Lizzie?” their dad asked their mom.
    Mom raised her eyebrows as if she thought it was a stupid question. “They could be better. My account and I have been waiting for … things.”
    Daphne stared down at their unraked brown carpet, embarrassed by her mom and unable to bear the shame on her dad’s face. Why did Mom always have to bring up money?
    “But I already told you,” he said. “On Tuesday we—”
    “Stop,” Gabby interrupted. “Daffy and I agreed not to fuss. So you guys shouldn’t, either.”
    Everyone fell silent. Daphne let go of her annoyance long enough to shoot her sister a grin.
    Sometimes Gabby’s grumpy nature came in handy.
    “Wednesday is his plaid button-down, which makes him look like an old, skinny lumberjack. Thursday is blue oxford that’s getting too small and starting to show his undershirt between buttons. And Friday is white shirt day. Well, it used to be white. Now it’s the color of … coffee-stained teeth. Especially around the armpits.” Daphne shuddered.
    Her dad reached out and put a hand on her arm. “That’s enough for now,
mija
. Take a break and eat some