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disappointed that she and her keypal were cut off before she could get some good advice. Even worse, now that Madison had brought up the subject, she couldn’t get Date-O-Magic out of her mind.
    “Wanna go o-u-t ?” she cried to Phinnie. She held out his leash.
    It was almost four o’clock, and a walk outside would clear her head. Maybe Aimee was home from dance class? If she was, Aimee and Madison could walk their dogs together. Phin loved Aimee’s basset hound, Blossom. It would be the perfect distraction.
    She left a note for Mom on the front door saying that she went to Aimee’s house.
    When Madison arrived at the Gillespies’ house, however, Madison found her BFF’s mom instead of her BFF.
    “Oh, Maddie, I’m sorry,” Mrs. Gillespie said when she opened the front door. “Aimee’s still at her ballet lesson.”
    Madison shifted from foot to foot. “Bummer,” she mumbled. “Well, see ya.”
    Mrs. Gillespie opened the screen door wider. “Do you want a snack?” she asked. “I just made some homemade granola.”
    Aimee’s mother was a health nut. She made almost every recipe in her kitchen with wheat germ or tofu. Madison wasn’t a huge fan of health-food cooking, however. She made a sour face.
    “Whoopsie! I forgot.” Mrs. Gillespie chuckled to herself. “You don’t like that all-natural stuff.”
    “But it was really nice of you to ask,” Madison said. “I just came over to take Phin for a walk with Blossom and Aimee, but it can wait for another—”
    “Why don’t we go together?” Mrs. Gillespie interrupted. “Let me grab Blossom’s leash.”
    Before Madison could even respond, Mrs. Gillespie had disappeared to find Blossom. Madison sat down on their front steps. Phin was sniffing everything he could sniff. He smelled hound.
    Often, when Mom was out of town, Madison would stay overnight for a day or longer with the Gillespies. Mrs. Gillespie knew how to say all the right things if Madison was feeling blue. Maybe she’d know what to say today?
    As they walked the dogs around Blueberry Street and Ridge Road, Madison tried to get up the courage to ask a few questions about what she’d discovered on her mom’s computer. Mrs. Gillespie would know why Mom was on that Web site, wouldn’t she?
    “Mrs. Gillespie, have you ever heard of Date-O-Magic?” Madison blurted.
    Aimee’s mother barely blinked an eye. “Date-O- what ?” she asked.
    “Date-O-MAGIC,” Madison repeated, a little louder for emphasis. “It’s some kind of Web site.”
    “Never heard of it,” Mrs. Gillespie said. “Doesn’t sound like something a seventh grader should really be looking at, though—”
    “No, I wasn’t,” Madison said. “I think Mom was.”
    Mrs. Gillespie put her hand gently on Madison’s shoulder. “Isn’t that her business?” she asked.
    “I guess. But I found out by accident, and now I know what’s going to happen. My mom is going to start dating, just like my dad,” Madison said. “She’s going to start dating some strange guy from the Internet and then—”
    “Hold on,” Mrs. Gillespie said calmly. “She wouldn’t date anyone without telling you about it. You know that.”
    Madison sighed. “But what if she is dating someone?” she asked.
    “You know, Maddie,” Mrs. Gillespie said. “I think maybe the person you should be talking to about this is your—”
    “Mom,” Madison grumbled. “Yeah, I know.”
    “Yes,” Mrs. Gillespie said. “You should talk to your mom and your dad about these feelings. Especially about the dating. I know it can’t be easy dealing with everything that’s happened since last year. We’ve discussed this before.”
    They had talked a lot about dealing with change. Sometimes when Madison slept over at Aimee’s house, she’d spend as much time talking to Aimee’s mother as she spent talking to Aimee. Mrs. Gillespie couldn’t help but be supportive 24/7.
    From the sidewalk, they watched Phin and Blossom sneak behind some bushes. Mrs.