Free A Whirlwind Vacation by Nancy Krulik

father came running over. He began screaming in Italian. As he yelled, he pointed to a group of people standing nearby. They were obviously waiting for their gondola ride. Katie had been very late bringing back the boat.
    Mr. and Mrs. Bridgeman weren’t very happy either. “Oh, no. Look at the time. We missed our reservation in the restaurant,” Mr. Bridgeman said angrily. “This was only supposed to be a one-hour ride. It’s been over two hours.”
    Katie wanted to cry. But she figured the real Vincenzo wouldn’t do that. So she just stood there, listening to everyone screaming at her. It was awful. But eventually, Vincenzo’s father went off to give his customers their ride. And the Bridgemans went back into the hotel.
    Katie was alone. She was also tired and hungry. She walked over to Vincenzo’s gelato stand. No one was around, because the stand was closed. Katie crouched down behind the stand and sat down. It was the perfect place to hide. No one could find her there.
    Well maybe no person could find her. But something else did. All of a sudden, Katie felt a familiar breeze blowing around her. She knew immediately that the magic wind was back.
    Katie wasn’t entirely sorry to have the wind come back. It had caused a real mess this time. She was anxious to become Katie Carew again.
    And then the wind stopped. Just like that. Katie Carew was as good as new! Well, almost as good as new. She still felt pretty awful about what she’d done to Vincenzo.

Chapter 22
    All the next day, Katie tried hard to avoid Vincenzo. She didn’t know what to say to him. She wished she could apologize. But how could she explain what the magic wind had done? It was just easier to stay away
    But that night, as she and Annabelle walked out of the hotel with their parents and Vicki, she bumped right into him. He was unloading ice cream into his freezer. He looked very sad.
    â€œHi, Vincenzo,” Katie said quietly.
    â€œHello, Katie,” he replied sadly. “Have you heard about what happened?”
    Katie nodded. “I’m sorry.”
    Vincenzo shrugged. “It is strange. I do not understand it. One minute I am near the boat ready to go, and the next ... well, I am not sure what happened. All I know is I ruined everything.”
    â€œRuined?” Annabelle piped up. “Are you crazy? That was the best gondola ride ever!”
    Vicki and the Bridgemans looked at her strangely.
    â€œThe best?” Vicki asked. “I thought it went on too long, and you wound up stopping for pastry on some little canal instead of coming straight back to the hotel.”
    Annabelle nodded. “We did. And we sang Bayside Boys songs.”
    â€œWe did?” Vincenzo asked.
    â€œSure,” Annabelle said. “Don’t you remember?”
    â€œI guess so. I mean no. I mean ...” Vincenzo sighed. “I do not know ...”
    â€œIt was the first fun thing I’ve done since we got to Venice,” Annabelle continued. “It wasn’t a museum or a fancy restaurant or some old church. It was the perfect ride for a kid!”
    â€œI wish you could tell my father that,” Vincenzo moaned.
    Katie looked over toward the canal, where Vincenzo’s father was busy cleaning the gondola. “Why can’t she?” she asked.
    â€œHuh?” Vincenzo and Annabelle asked together.
    â€œAnnabelle should tell your father about all the fun she had,” Katie said excitedly. “It would be a great activity for kids to go on while their parents shop for crystal or go to a fancy restaurant.”
    â€œYou know, that’s not a bad idea,” Vicki said. “I’m always looking for things kids can do in Europe. And I know parents like some time alone on vacation.”
    â€œThat’s true,” Mr. Carew agreed. “Katie would definitely have hated going shopping today.”
    â€œDo you really think my father would like this idea?”