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  And then I thought of Mom and her secret boyfriend, and my father and his strange e-mail.

  Maybe sometimes, change is good, I thought, but not all the time!

  CHAPTER 12

  A Big Decision

  That night Mom ordered Chinese food for us. I like to use chopsticks when I eat Chinese food, because it’s more fun. I’m still not great at using them yet, so I ordered tofu and broccoli. (I could pick up the big chunks more easily.)

  “Katie, we should make cupcakes tonight,” Mom suggested.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go running all by yourself?” I asked, and inside I cringed as soon as the words came out. I know it was kind of mean of me to ask her that way, but I swear sometimes words just come out of me and I can’t stop them.

  But Mom didn’t look upset or anything. “I’d rather stay here with you—unless you’re tired of making cupcakes?”

  “Now that is a ridiculous question,” I said with a grin.

  “So what kind should we make?” Mom asked.

  I thought for a minute. “How about peanut butter and jelly?”

  “Aren’t you doing that with the Cupcake Club?”

  “I mean, peanut butter and grape jelly,” I said. “You know, the original recipe. Just like the ones you always make me for the first day of school or when I have a big test or something.”

  Mom smiled. “Let’s do it.”

  Soon, we were in the kitchen, and Mom let me blast the radio loud. Before we knew it, we were baking and talking, and I ended up telling her all about Spirit Day and the park and stuff. After a few hours we were sitting at the kitchen table, biting into the finished cupcakes, which were still slightly warm. The peanut-butter icing was smooth and creamy, and the grape jelly inside was an awesome burst of grapeness.

  “I forgot how good these are,” Mom remarked. “I guess they are like good, old, comfort cupcakes.”

  “They’re the best,” I agreed.

  Mom put down her cupcake and then gave me one of those supersweet mom looks. “I love you, Peanut Butter,” she said.

  I laughed. “I love you too, Jelly.”

  I guess I should explain. When I was in nursery school, I told my teacher my mom and I were like peanut butter and jelly, because we went everywhere together. I guess that shows you how close my mom and I have always been.

  “The PTA is going to love these,” Mom raved.

  “Oh, I thought you knew,” I said. “We’re not doing grape jelly. We’re doing guava jelly with some candied ginger on top for decoration.”

  “That actually sounds very good,” Mom said.

  I sighed. “I was totally against the guava. I got mad at everybody for wanting to change it. So do you know what they did? They each agreed to try something new, just for me. That’s why Emma did the egg race today. And Mia even wore a sweatshirt to school!”

  Mom laughed. “Oh my gosh, she did? She must really love you.”

  “And Alexis is going to eat spicy food,” I told her. I giggled. “I can’t wait to see that.”

  “Well, it’s good to try new things,” Mom said. “Even classic recipes have to be tweaked once in a while. The jelly might be different, but it’s still a P-B-and-J cupcake.”

  “I guess you’re right,” I admitted. We quietly ate our cupcakes for the next few minutes, licking the icing. (We even eat cupcakes the same way.)

  Mom broke the silence. “I spoke to your father,” she said, and I got a little chill. Half of me had been dying for the past few days, wondering if Mom had talked to him, and the other half had been hoping the whole thing had been forgotten.

  “What did he say?” I asked casually.

  “Well, he wants to get to know you,” Mom started. “I asked him what sparked the e-mail, but he didn’t really say. And I let him know that I would have appreciated it if he had contacted me first. I still have some concerns, but I’d like to know how you feel. Would you like to see him, Katie?”

  Suddenly, everything was totally real, and I started to feel panicked. What if we met and I didn’t like him? Or he didn’t like me? Or his kids didn’t like me? This decision was way bigger than guava jelly.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied honestly.

  “That’s okay,” Mom said, putting her arm around me. “There’s no rush—as far as I’m concerned, anyway. You take your time, Katie. When you make up your mind, let me know. Do you have any questions or concerns that you want to talk about?”

  I did, but everything was all jumbled up in my brain, so I just shook my head. Mom gave me a little hug.

  Then I thought of a question I did want to ask—about Mom’s secret boyfriend. But I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Things felt really good—just me and Mom eating cupcakes. So what if it wasn’t new and exciting? It’s exactly where I wanted to be.

  CHAPTER 13

  Alexis Heats Up

  Dinner 2-nite at my house, Mia texted me the next morning. Alexis is going to do the spicy thing.

  Cool! Let me ask Mom, I replied.

  She was in another humming/lip gloss mood that morning, so of course she said yes. In fact, she got on the phone and came back and said, “I talked to Mia’s mom. She said you can stay until ten. I’ll pick you up then.”

  “Let me guess,” I said. “You’re going out to dinner with some friends, right?”

  Mom looked at me funny. “Just one friend, actually.” And then she quickly left the room.

  I was glad Mia invited me over, because between my father and my mother, I was feeling pretty confused. Watching Alexis try to eat spicy food would definitely take my mind off things.

  When I got to Mia’s, a delicious smell was wafting throughout the house. Alexis was already there with Mia.

  “Where’s Emma?” I asked. Since Emma and Alexis live close to each other, they usually arrive everywhere at the same time.

  “She had to take Jake to a T-ball game,” Alexis explained. “She’ll be here soon.”

  I nodded toward the kitchen. “That smells sooo good. What’s on the menu?”

  Mia made a face. “I’m not sure. Eddie’s been in there for hours.”

  “Let’s find out,” I said.

  “Let’s not,” Alexis said worriedly. “I’d rather not know.”

  I grabbed her arm. “Come on, just looking won’t hurt.”

  But when we got to the kitchen, Eddie shooed us away. “Out! Out! I am creating a masterpiece here. I need complete concentration.”

  We left the kitchen, giggling.

  “He’s taking this pretty seriously,” I noted.

  “I hope not too seriously,” Alexis muttered. She looked miserable.

  Then the doorbell rang.

  “That must be Emma,” Mia guessed. But when she opened the door, we saw it wasn’t just Emma—her brother Matt was with her.

  “He insisted on coming along,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  Behind her, Matt shrugged off the insult. “I love spicy food and Dad hates it, so we never have it at our house,” he said. “Plus, I want to see if Alexis will really go through with it.”

  “No problem. Let me ask Eddie if you can stay,” Mia said. She raised her voice. “Eddie! Is it okay if Matt eats with us?”

  “Of course!” Eddie yelled back. “The more the merrier!”

  “I’m going to go through with it!” Alexis mumbled huffily, but she still looked nervous, although slightly less miserable. She’s always had kind of a crush on Matt, who’s one year older than us. I think he must like Alexis too—at least a little bit. He agreed to be her partner in the pep-rally parade. He’s got blond hair and blue eyes, just like Emma, and he’s really cute. But Emma thinks he’s totally annoying.

  “So, you really like spicy food?” Alexis asked.

  Matt nodded. “It’s awesome! I once ate Indian food, and my head was sweating so much, I couldn’t believe it. Totally gross, but the food was worth it.”

  Alexis was really getting fidgety. “You
don’t think Eddie is making head-sweating food, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” Mia replied. “But he did bring back a big bag of peppers from the grocery store.”

  Mia’s stepbrother, Dan, came down the stairs. “Yo,” he said, nodding toward Matt. Dan and Emma’s oldest brother, Sam, know each other, and sometimes they all get together to play basketball. Then Dan nodded toward Mia. “Dinner ready yet?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mia answered.

  Then Mia’s mom came into the living room, wearing a bright red dress. “Eddie says it’s time for the spicy feast to begin, everybody,” she announced. She smiled at Matt. “I’ve set an extra place for you.”

  “Awesome. Thanks.” Matt was happy. “My mouth is watering.”

  “Wow, Mrs. Valdes,” I said. “That’s a really red dress! I mean, it’s nice, but it’s really red.”

  Mia’s mom smiled. “A spicy meal calls for a spicy dress. Come on, let’s go to the dining room.”

  Mia’s mom and stepdad had decorated the dining room with a bright red tablecloth, red napkins, and red glasses to go with their usual set of white dinner plates. We took our seats, and I noticed Alexis slid into the one next to Matt.

  Eddie came into the dining room, carrying a steaming platter of food in each hand.

  “Fried plantains,” he said, placing down the first platter. And then, “Yellow rice.”

  “These aren’t spicy,” Mia remarked.

  “Spicy, coming right up!” Eddie said. He disappeared into the kitchen and then returned with a large silver platter filled with golden pieces of chicken, covered in a green sauce.

  “Spicy marinated chicken with green chile sauce,” Eddie announced proudly.

  Matt inhaled the scent. “Oh man, that smells good.”

  “Pass me your plates,” Mrs. Valdes instructed, standing up. “The platters are kind of heavy.”

  Soon we each had a plate full of chicken, sauce, rice, and plantains. My stomach was growling.

  We began to eat. I have to admit that I was a tiny bit hesitant about eating the spicy chicken. I mean, I like spicy, but this looked really spicy. So I ate some plantains first, to warm up. They’re kind of like big bananas that aren’t as sweet, and they’re crispy and creamy when they’re fried. Then I took a tiny bite of the chicken and sauce. It was delicious—but definitely hot! I quickly ate a forkful of rice to counteract the heat.

  Unfortunately, Alexis saw my expression. “Oh my gosh, Katie, look at your face!” she said, pointing. “I love you, but I don’t think I can do this. Maybe I can do another challenge.”

  “Come on, Alexis,” Matt coaxed her. “You can do it. It’s not so bad, I swear.” He touched her hand for a split second, and Alexis blushed.

  Alexis sighed and then picked up her fork. I knew she wouldn’t back down in front of Matt.

  “Okay,” she relented. She carefully cut a little square of chicken about the size of a quarter, and dipped a tiny corner of it in the sauce. Then she slowly, slowly, brought the fork to her mouth.

  Every eye in the room was on Alexis, and nobody said a word as she put the chicken into her mouth. She chewed, she swallowed, and then—

  “Aaaauuuuggghh!” she shrieked. She quickly grabbed a glass of water and then gulped it down.

  “Don’t do that!” Eddie warned. “The water will just spread the oil of the chilies around in your mouth. It’ll make it worse.”

  Alexis grimaced. “I just figured that out.”

  Eddie jumped up and then came right back with a small glass of milk for Alexis. “This should help, but sip it slowly,” he warned, and she gratefully drank it.

  “Oh my gosh,” she said, when she put down her empty glass. “That was crazy hot!”

  Matt shook his head. “Too bad. Looks like you failed the challenge.”

  “I did not!” Alexis insisted. “I said that I would try it, not that I would like it.”

  I had to agree. “Yeah, that totally counts. Thanks, Alexis.”

  Eddie ran to the kitchen again and came back with another plate of food. “I made some nonspicy chicken, just in case,” he said, putting it in front of Alexis.

  She looked completely relieved. “Thank you so much!”

  Now that Alexis’s challenge was over, we could all relax and eat our meal. For dessert, Eddie made homemade flan, which is like this sweet, creamy, caramel-y egg custard. It was the perfect cooling end to the spicy meal.

  “This is amazingly good,” I said. “It might be my favorite dessert ever.”

  “Better than cupcakes?” Matt teased.

  I nodded. “Better. Eddie, you are the dessert master.”

  Eddie looked really pleased. “Thanks, but I had a dessert the other day that blew me away. It was this really delicate, perfect apple tart with homemade cinnamon ice cream on top. Amazing.”

  “Oh, you mean the dessert you had at Chez Donald?” Mia’s mom asked.

  Mia nudged me under the table. I turned and looked at her. That was my father’s restaurant! But nobody at the table knew about it except me and Mia. It was weird having such a big secret.

  I was dying to talk to Mia about it, but we didn’t get a chance until after dinner. Alexis and Emma and Matt had to leave, but it was still early and my mom wasn’t picking me up until ten. Mia and I went up to her room to hang out.

  “That was so weird, your mom mentioning Chez Donald,” I said.

  “I know!” Mia agreed. “So, have you talked to your dad yet?”

  I frowned. “I’m not sure if I want to. But Mom says he wants to see me.”

  “It must be hard for you, Katie. But you’ve got to do what feels right, you know?”

  I was quiet for a minute. “I was thinking about your plan,” I said quietly.

  “You mean going to the restaurant?” Mia asked.

  I nodded. “I figured that way, I can get a look at him, and if I feel brave enough, I’ll talk to him. But if I chicken out, he’ll never know.” It seemed like the perfect thing. I could satisfy my curiosity with zero risk.

  “Let’s do it,” Mia decided. “I’ll figure out a way for us to get there so no one is suspicious, okay?”

  “Thanks,” I said gratefully, and I started to feel excited. Soon, I might be seeing my father for what would be the first time in a long time.

  CHAPTER 14

  Sharing the Secret

  I decided I couldn’t keep the secret from Alexis and Emma any longer. I waited until we were all together again at lunch on Monday.

  “So, I found out a little more about my dad,” I said, and Emma and Alexis immediately leaned in, curious.

  “Did you e-mail him back?” Alexis asked.

  “Did you talk to him on the phone?” Emma wanted to know.

  I shook my head. “Not yet. My mom talked to him. She was pretty mad that he tried to contact me without going through her.”

  Alexis nodded. “I can totally understand that. You said you haven’t seen him since you were like, two, right?”

  “Right. And Mom said I could see him if I want, but I’m not sure,” I explained. “Part of me is kind of mad at him. But the other part of me has a million questions for him, you know? Like, I always wanted to know why he left.”

  “Didn’t your mom tell you?” Emma asked.

  “She says he wanted to find himself or something like that,” I replied. “But I never understood that. I mean, couldn’t he find himself while he was with us?”

  Everyone was quiet for a second. It sounded pretty bad for a guy to leave his wife and little kid and just go away. You’d have to have a pretty good reason for that. I really hoped he did.

  “Did you find anything more about him?” Alexis asked.

  I nodded. “He says he has three kids,” I said. “I don’t even know if they’re boys or girls or how old they are.”

  “Ooh, if they’re boys, then you’ll have three brothers, just like me,” Emma said, her blue eyes shining.

  I smiled. “I thought the same thing.”<
br />
  “And if they’re girls, at least they’ll be younger than you,” Alexis pointed out. “Because big sisters can be a total pain.”

  “So can little kids,” Mia said, and I knew she was thinking of Ethan, who was the son of Mia’s dad’s girlfriend. I think Ethan is, like, five, and I know he drives Mia crazy.

  “Well, maybe I’ll never even meet them!” I said, suddenly feeling stressed. “I just don’t know!”

  “Poor Katie,” Emma said. She is a very empathetic person. (I learned that word in English class, and it means someone who can tell what other people are feeling. It’s a great word for Emma, because it even has part of her name in it.)

  “It’s okay,” I said. “But I left out the weirdest part. My dad owns a restaurant right over in Stonebrook—Chez Donald.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Alexis cried. “Mia’s mom just mentioned that the other day. My parents go there sometimes. And all this time your dad owns the place. Weird!”

  “Totally weird,” I agreed. Mia looked at me, and I knew what she was thinking. Did I want to tell Emma and Alexis about our plan? I shook my head. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through with it.

  That night, I called Mia from my room.

  “So, what do you think?” I asked. “When should we go?”

  “I’m with Dad this weekend, so we can do it the next,” Mia replied. “I checked their hours, and they’re open for lunch. I can ask Dan to drive us. He won’t ask any questions. We can tell our moms we’re going shopping in town.”

  That would be a lie, I knew. But wasn’t Mom lying to me? And, anyway, it was just a small lie. I wasn’t hurting anybody.

  “Okay,” I said. “In twelve days, Operation Chez Donald is on!”

  CHAPTER 15

  Chez Freak-Out

  The next twelve days were the longest, slowest days of my life. A few interesting things happened. One afternoon, I went to the park again with Mia, George, Ken, Sophie, and Lucy. Another day after school, Emma and I went to the gourmet shop and bought the candied ginger. And on the weekend Mia was with her dad, Alexis, Emma, and I baked two dozen plain-Jane cupcakes for a birthday party (vanilla with vanilla icing), which was a supereasy job. And in English class, Chau wrote a poem about things that go together, and it made me laugh all day, every time I thought about it. It went like this: