Chapter 3

Chapter three, On Saturday morning, we brought all our bags down to the lobby where Papa Pete and Frankie were waiting for us. "Thanks for letting us borrow your car, Papa Pete," I said. "My pleasure," he answered, handing the keys to my dad. "I filled it up with gas, so you're ready to roll." "Are you sure this car can make the trip?" he asked. "I don't want it to break down on the side of the highway." "This old car loves the highway," Papa Pete said. "I've taken it on a lot of road trips."

"That's my point," my dad said. "Who knows if it has one more road trip in it? So why take a chance? Let's forget the trip and all go to a Saturday afternoon movie. What do you say, kids?" "I say camping." Then I started to chant, "Camping, camping, camping." Frankie and Emily joined in. My mom laughed. It looked like my father was going to cry. "Seems like you have your answer, Stan," my mom said. "Let's load up the car and go." We all helped put our stuff in the trunk. When it was almost full, my dad suddenly stopped and slapped his forehead. "Wait a minute," he said. "I can't go. What about Cheerio? I have to take care of him. He's just a puppy." "Remember that Mrs. Fink in apartment 10C has agreed to walk and feed Cheerio twice a day?" my mom said.

"But what happens if she can't find her false teeth? She won't leave her apartment. That happened once, and we didn't see her for three days. No, I can't risk that. I'm staying home with Cheerio. Have a great time, everyone." He ran into the lobby. I followed him and found him pushing the elevator button over and over again. "Dad, you just gave me a great idea," I said. "We'll take Cheerio. It will be the biggest adventure of his little puppy life." "You can't take a dog into the wilderness," my dad said as the elevator doors opened.

"Of course you can," I said as we got in the elevator. "They're animals. They love wilderness." I didn't stop talking until we were inside our apartment. "Cheerio!" I called. "Want to go on a road trip?" Cheerio jumped off the couch and almost flew into my arms. "See?" I said to my dad. "He wants to go. How can we say no to this face?" Cheerio looked over at my dad, and I swear he smiled right at him. That cute doggy's smile can even melt my dad's heart.

"Fine," he said, sighing deeply. "I'll let Mrs. Fink know what we're doing. Hank, get Cheerio's things together." Everyone cheered when we came out of our building with Cheerio. Emily reached out and scratched Cheerio under the chin. "You are not as cute as my Katherine, and you can't catch flies with your tongue. But I'm glad you're coming along, anyway." My mom hugged Dad and smiled. "You did the right thing, Stan," she said. "You'll see. We're going to have a great time." My dad just grunted like a hippo stuck in the mud. We piled into the car. As I was getting in, Papa Pete handed me a brown paper bag. "Here's a little surprise for you kids," he said. I didn't even have to open the bag to know what was inside. It was pickles, Papa Pete's favorite snack. We always have a pickle together when we've got a big problem to solve.

"I brought a pickle for each of you kids," he said. "Just don't let Cheerio get them." "Thanks, Papa Pete," we all said. Frankie calls him Papa Pete, too, even though he's not his grandfather. "See you tomorrow," my mom called to Papa Pete. "Don't forget to put on bug spray," he replied as he waved good-bye. We took off. Mom and Dad sat up front. The three of us were in the backseat. Well, make that the four of us because I had Cheerio on my lap. As we drove out of the city, Frankie, Emily, and I played this game where you count