Gunpowder and Tea Cakes: My Journey with Felicity

I tell Felicity I should be going now. Before I go, I hug Felicity. I tell her that I’ll always remember her. I begin squeezing through the crush of people. I hope I can find my old dad, the one I had before Mom got sick and died. Once I’m away from the crowd, I scoot behind a tall fence and pull the miniature painting from beneath my kerchief. I take a deep breath, look into the lady’s eyes, and before I know it, I am back in my grandma’s antique shop.

I help Grandma make dinner, and I think about what happened at the Palace. I keep hearing Mr. Randolph’s voice in my head, saying that instead of fighting, we must find a way to demonstrate why we believe Governor Dunmore’s actions are unfair.

I’ve been more and more frustrated with Dad lately. When he treats me like a baby, I get mad at him. I’ve tried to get him to change his mind, but maybe I haven’t done the best job of explaining how the rules make me upset.

When Dad gets home, he seems tired. I’ve been practicing what I want to say in my head, but I almost chicken out. Maybe I should put it off until a better time. But I’ve already waited too long to tell him things.

I tell him I want to talk to him about something important, so he asks me what’s wrong as he sprinkles parmesan cheese over leftover spaghetti. I take a deep breath and tell him I’m very frustrated by some of the rules around here. I really wanted to go to the animal shelter with Amara and Lauren. Dad flatly says he can’t let me go to places with people I don’t know.

I know there’s nothing dangerous about going to an animal shelter. I want to shout, but I don’t. Instead, I tell him that maybe we can set up a time for him to meet my friends’ parents. He responds well to that idea! So, I continue that sometimes I feel like he doesn’t trust me to make good choices.

Dad puts his fork down on the table. Is he mad?