Fabulous Five 031 - The Fabulous Five Together Again Read Online Free PDF Page A

want a T-shirt from
there."
    "Why don't we all go there for dinner one night,"
suggested Mrs. Winchell. "I've got an idea. Let's plan on having Christie's
birthday dinner there."
    "Great," everyone agreed.
    "Hey, Dad," said Christie. "Can you take us
to Connie's on Friday so we can go horseback riding?"
    "Let me check with Mrs. Davies, the woman from my
company who's here this week, to see what her plans are," answered her
father. "She was intending to stay through the weekend, but she seems
happy with what she's seen so far. She may actually go back to the States on
Friday. If she does, I can take you."
    "When are they going to transfer you back home, Mr.
Winchell?" asked Katie.
    He smiled. "Things are going well, but I can't believe
I'll be transferred back any time soon."
    Beth made a sour face. "Darn!" The others looked
down.
    "So," Christie piped up, trying to change the
subject, "tomorrow we'll go to Buckingham Palace."
    Katie smiled. "You'll finally get to see the palace, Mel.
But then we're going to Old Bailey, too."
     
    Later that night Christie and Jana were the first ones to
arrive upstairs to get ready for bed.
    "It's so much fun having you guys here," Christie
said, following Jana as she went into the bathroom to wash her face. "Isn't
London exciting?"
    Jana nodded. "I'm having a great time."
    "Are you?" Christie said. "I'm glad to hear
that . . ." She hesitated. "I've been wondering if something's wrong.
You seem so quiet."
    Jana looked at Christie's reflection in the mirror and
sighed. "I guess I'm not hiding it very well, am I? I'm worried about my
father."
    "What's up?" asked Christie, immediately thinking
of Mr. Morgan's drinking problem, which was what had led Jana's mom to divorce
him. For as long as Christie could remember he had disappointed Jana. Once in
elementary school he had promised to take Jana on a vacation out west, then
never showed up.
    "I got a letter from him," Jana explained. "He
said he'd met a lady and was going to quit drinking. Her name is Erma Benfield.
He said she's a wonderful person and is going to help him. He sounded excited."
    "That's great!" Christie smiled broadly. "Good
for him." Then she frowned. "But that should make you happy, not sad."
    "It did," said Jana. "At first it all seemed
wonderful. He wrote a few times, telling me how things were going at his
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Then he and Erma got married. He sent me
pictures of them with the justice of the peace at City Hall.
    "Then he stopped writing. I've written him twice,
asking if everything is okay, but he hasn't answered."
    "Maybe he's busy," Christie suggested. "Maybe
they're off on a honeymoon."
    "I doubt it," Jana replied. "I think either
he's started drinking again or my stepmother is intercepting my letters and not
giving them to him."
    "Why would she do a thing like that?" asked
Christie in amazement.
    Jana shrugged. "Jealousy? I've tried to be friendly. In
my letters I've asked him to say hello to her for me, but I've never gotten any messages back from her. Maybe she doesn't want him reminded of his
past." Tears brimmed in Jana's eyes.
    "Oh, Jana," said Christie, stepping up to her
friend and hugging her. "Have you thought about writing to him where he
works?"
    "I don't even know if he's got a job," replied
Jana, wiping her nose with a tissue. "Besides, what would I say—Are you
drinking again, or is your wife hiding my letters from you?"
    "I guess you couldn't do that," Christie admitted.
    "Now I don't know what to do," said Jana.
    "Well, one thing you can do is try to forget him while you're
on vacation," offered Christie. "There's not a thing you can do about
it now. Who knows? Maybe there'll be a letter waiting for you when you get
home."
    Jana shook her head. "That's wishful thinking. But you're
right," she said, smiling a little. "I'm on vacation with my best
friends, and I'm going to enjoy it."
    "Good!" responded Christie. As they headed back
toward the bedroom to join the others, she added,