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yap. Vee liked the sound of the word. A beetling
yap
open at dinner. She took the sticky, sweaty hand, trying not to grimace. Dad squeezed her other hand, and when she turned to smile at him, he winked.
Oh, Dad.
    Heather bowed her head, “Thank You, Lord, for the food we are about to eat. Help us find our place in You every moment.”
    With all the horrible changes, Heather blessing the food was one addition Vee liked. It reminded Vee of Sunny and Esther who talked to God like He was their friend, only lots bigger. Tonight part of the familiar prayer sounded as loud as one of the Twin Terror’s fights:
“Help us find our place in You every moment.”
She was sure her spot was in the ALC.
    What I need:
    1. More tutoring sessions with Math Man (ick).
    2. Doing extra homework (double ick).
    3. God to turn the fire alarm sprinklers on and ruin the math test.
    The last one? Okay, maybe not. In her mind, she drew a single line through it. They would just print out another test. Unless, of course, the sprinklers ruined the printer, too….
    After dinner Dad walked by and patted her shoulder. “How about a walk? Heather wants the boys to help with cleaning up after dinner so you and I can have some no-boy time. Sound good?”

    Evening still held off these days, letting the day stay warm and long. From the moment they hit the driveway and headed down the cul-de-sac of huge houses, it seemed like she couldn’t shut off her mouth. She talked about the Squad coming over and how she wanted to work with them at the senior center but couldn’t because she had to pass this retest. She talked about the curious kitten and how they’d discovered each other in the bushes. She talked about the language arts teacher and
beetle.
Dad laughed loudly at that and threw his arm around her shoulder.
    “Vee, you are so funny. I bet your teacher loves having you in class.”
    Vee felt like a spotlight had been lit inside. Talking about the girls made her want to be with them. Surely they knew what she had to give up to stay in the ALC. It would only be twenty-six days. Just until the Friday morning of the Helpful City Festival.
    “I really like the Accelerated Learning Center, Dad. My want-to is going strong—”
    “Your mom called while you and Heather were finishing up the sauce,” Dad interrupted. Anybody who had known Dad for even a little time knew he thought in “rooms.” And when he was in one room, he didn’t hear you talking from another room. He was in the Mom Phone Call Room.
    “Dad, this is important. It’s so cool in the ALC. There’s a big bathtub and—”
    “Shall we do a little jog and burn off some dinner?” Dad increased his pace until Vee moved to an effortless trot. She gave up and began to grin. The smile on her face felt silly, like she was some little kid, but she couldn’t help it. She and Dad used to run together several times a week since she was little.
    “I’ll race you to the tree with the sign on it!” she yelled and took off.
    “Hey, no fair! You’re getting a head start.” She heard a laugh in his voice.
    “Ramp up your want-to, Dad!” She pressed her hands at her sides, hands open and straight. Pump, pump. Her knees rose and fell. The tree got nearer. Footsteps pounded behind her, and she puffed out short bursts of breath. Just. A. Few. More. Feet.
    “Passing!” Dad yelled and blew past her, reaching the tree seconds before her. Vee groaned and plowed into him, wrapping her arms around him. “Just ’cause your legs are longer!”
    A Good Dad Weekend:
    1. No Math Man
    2. No Twin Terrors
    3. Run with Dad
    She pushed off her father’s stomach and turned to face him, hands on hips. “You almost didn’t beat me. You haven’t been running, have you?”
    “Boys like soccer, not running. Heather goes to the gym. Vee, about that ‘want to …’” He moved from the tree and back onto the sidewalk where they continued, still both a little out of breath. “It’s not always—well—” He