said Iâd be at the café for a couple of days, and itâs been three.â
âWell, to be honest with you, Rachel, itâs been hard to find someone. But Iâm looking, I promise. And if we canât find someone by next week, the café will just manage without you, okay?â
I let out a long sigh of relief. âThank you.â If I have to spend my whole vacation working, not only will I never have time to reconnect with Dad, but Iâll feel even more cheated.
Ellie looks at her watch. âDo you mind if I send you off to the café? The morning rush should be starting soon.â
âNo, wait!â
Her eyebrows shoot up. âWhatâs the matter?â
Just say it, I tell myself. Just casually bring it up and see what she says. âI need to ask you something elseâ¦about my dad.â
Her face relaxes. âOf course. I could talk about your father all day.â Since Iâve heard how much she talks, I donât doubt it.
I clear my throat. âWell, Iâve been trying to convince him that we should go to Disney for a few days, but he never has any time.â
âHeâs been so busy at workââ
âItâs not just that! Itâsâ¦itâs you!â I blurt out. âWith your date nights and your pizza and stuff. How am I supposed to hang out with him when youâre taking up all his time?â So much for being casual.
Ellie gives me a long look. âIâm sorry you feel that way, Rachel. Of course I donât want to come between you and your father, but weâre going to be family soon. Donât you think we should get used to sharing him?â
But I donât want to share him! my brain screams. Not all the time, anyway. âIâve been planning this trip to Disney with him since I was little,â I say. âIâve come all this way. It has to happen.â
I can hear how desperate my voice sounds, and I guess it must get through to Ellie because she finally says, âYouâre right. If you want to go to Disney, then weâll go to Disney.â
Oh my goldfish. Why does she have to always assume that sheâs invited to everything? Canât I have even one day alone with my dad?
âWait!â Ellie adds, sitting up in her seat. âIt would be the perfect spot! Why didnât I think of it before? I mean, Disney is supposed to be the most magical place on earth.â
âPerfect spot for what?â I say.
âFor me to propose to your father!â she says.
All I can do is stare at her, my breath frozen in my chest like itâs been glued there.
âDonât say a word to him, okay? I want it to be a complete surprise.â She checks her watch again. âOops! Itâs getting late. We donât want to leave Carrie and Taylor all alone during the rush, do we?â She shoos me toward the door. âDonât worry, Rachel. Just leave all the planning to me,â Ellie adds, giving me a little wink before she shuts the door in my face.
Chapter 15
While Taylor is eating lunch and Carrie is checking stock in the back, I sneak under the counter and grab the Gossip File. At this point, Iâm desperate. There has to be something in here that can help me break up my dad and Ellie.
As the thought forms in my head, I realize that as bad as it sounds, thatâs exactly what I have to do. I canât let Ellie ruin everything. My dad canât be happy with her when he never jokes around and works all the time and does what she wants every second of the day. Once Ellie is out of his life, Iâll be able to get my old dad back.
I flip through the notes, trying to make sense of things like: âGirl in purple with blue icing,â and slogging my way through boring stuff like âKai got to the smoothie stand at 8:05 a.m., two minutes later than yesterday.â I think Harriet the Spy would be a little disappointed.
I try to find more things