The Day of the Iguana Read Free

meeting.”
    Family meetings in our house are not as good as they sound. My mom calls them to remind us not to leave our wet towels on the carpet after we take a shower. My dad calls them to yell at us when we have to pay late fees for rented videotapes. Emily calls them just to whine. I never call them. Why call for a meeting you don’t want to attend in the first place?
    My father walked into my bedroom, still holding the newspaper folded to the crossword puzzle. He’s a crossword puzzle fanatic and proud of it.
    â€œI’m in a very good mood,” he said. “You’re looking at the man who just solved today’s crossword in six minutes and eleven seconds. A personal best.”
    â€œCongratulations, Dad,” I said.
    â€œThank you, Hank. Now what’s the problem, Emily? I’m in a problem-solving mood.”
    â€œMom says we’re making plans to go away for the weekend. No one has made plans for Katherine. Is she not a member of this family?”
    â€œI vote no,” I said immediately.
    â€œShe can’t stay here alone,” Emily whined. “She’s afraid of the dark.”
    â€œMaybe Papa Pete can look after the beast,” I suggested. Papa Pete is my grandpa and the single best human being in the whole world.
    â€œKatherine is not a beast,” Emily said.
    â€œI was referring to you,” I said.
    â€œThat’s enough, Hank,” my mom said. “Besides, Papa Pete can’t look after Katherine. He’s staying out in Westhampton for a couple of days. He wouldn’t miss the twins’ birthday. He’s their grandfather, too.”
    â€œWhat did we do with the animals when we went to Niagara Falls last summer?” my dad asked.
    â€œWe left Cheerio with Mrs. Fink next door,” I said. Cheerio is our beige dachshund dog. We call him that because he’s always chasing his tail and when he spins around in a circle, he looks like a Cheerio. “I’ll bet Mrs. Fink would watch him again. They really bonded.”
    â€œKatherine stayed at the pet store,” Emily said. “George took care of her.”
    â€œYou remember George, Dad,” I said. “The pet store guy who looks like a gerbil.”
    â€œHe does not,” Emily said. “He just has a very furry beard.”
    â€œThat starts at his eyebrows,” I said.
    â€œEmily, why don’t you find the phone number of the pet store,” Dad suggested.
    â€œIt’s Pets for U and Me,” Mom said. “The number is on the wall by the kitchen phone.”
    â€œCall and find out how much it would cost to keep Katherine there overnight,” Dad suggested.
    â€œDoes this mean we’re going?” I asked my mom. “I’ll work on my science project in Westhampton, I promise.”
    My mom thought for a moment. “Okay, we’ll go.”
    â€œMom, you’re the greatest,” I said, giving her a big hug.
    â€œIt’s about time you realized that,” she said, hugging me back.

CHAPTER 5
    THE TWINS’ PARTY started at twelve thirty, so my dad told us we should be on the road Saturday morning by seven thirty, eight o‘clock the latest. It’s only about a three-hour drive to Westhampton, but he always builds in “lost time.” That’s the time when my dad is convinced it’s a right turn and my mother says, “Stanley, please, just this once, turn left,” and he doesn’t, and we get totally lost.
    My dad had rented a minivan for the trip and when he left to pick it up, he told us to be waiting outside the apartment building at eight o’clock sharp. I had called Frankie and Ashley and told them we were all meeting downstairs. Dad would drive by and get us, we’d drop off Katherine at Pets for U and Me, and then be on our way.
    But when it was time to leave the apartment, we couldn’t find Katherine anywhere. She wasn’t asleep in her cage. She wasn’t in