Dear Mr. Henshaw Diary 38-43 Summary

Leigh hates his dad (it's really bad when it's said in italics), and he tells us why.
His mom's not home because she's working hard for a golf tournament.
Leigh is supposed to be cleaning, but he's all mad about the divorce so he doesn't do it.
Instead, he calls his dad's trailer in Bakersfield, even though he doesn't expect him to answer.
Dad answers.
He calls Leigh "kid" again, and Leigh tells him to stop it.
Leigh is upset because his dad hadn't called this week. Dad says the week isn't up yet.
Leigh explains how his lunches are being stolen. Dad tells him to punch the kid in the nose.
Leigh asks about Bandit. Silence.
Dad says Bandit got out in the snow and didn't come back. He says he tried to find him, but he's gone.
Leigh is so angry he's crying. How could his dad let Bandit freeze to death?
Dad tries his best to reassure Leigh that Bandit will be okay, and Leigh is about to say he understands when…
...he hears some kid in the background ask his dad about getting pizza, and Leigh hangs up. He feels like his insides are falling out.
He doesn't want to hear any more, and he doesn't want to write any more just now.

This is the first diary entry where Leigh doesn't have to write to Mr. Pretend Henshaw. He's able to just write down his thoughts on paper. Mr. Henshaw's strategy worked.
Leigh realizes he doesn't really hate his dad, though maybe it'd just be easier if he did.
After hanging up on his dad, Leigh cries about Bandit and about the boy getting pizza with his dad and about his dad not calling.
Mom comes home and hears the story, and then tells him how she and his dad fell in love.
She says she got tired of driving and truck stops and wanted to stay home when Leigh was born.
She cries and tries to make Leigh feel better about Bandit.
After picking up fried chicken, they eat in the car on the beach.
Watching the waves and being together calms them both down, and Leigh is not mad at his mom anymore.

Today is a hard day for Leigh: he's super tired and realizes Mr. Fridley doesn't really need his help with the flags, and someone steals his little cheesecake.
Leigh vows revenge on the perpetrator.
He tries writing a story for Young Writers, but the ideas aren't really happening.
During spelling class, everything bubbles up inside, and he gets so mad he grabs a random lunch bag and is about to drop kick it in the hall when Mr. Fridley intervenes.
Leigh doesn't care.
Mr. Fridley does.
They have a short talk about friends, how scowling doesn't help, and how everyone has problems.
Mr. Fridley sends Leigh back to class to think things through.

After school, Leigh tries to walk off the rotten way he's feeling.
He passes all the shops and sees the "butterfly trees" place he's heard so much about.
Walking in, he's not sure what all the fuss is because he doesn't see much.
Then, he looks closer and sees them. They cover the trees.
The sun pops out, the butterflies take flight, and Leigh feels all warm and fuzzy inside.
Running home, he notices metal boxes on some of the shops that say "alarm systems." He wonders what's inside.

Leigh asks the guy at the gas station what's inside the alarm box. Batteries and a bell, he finds out.
He starts a new story for the Young Writers' Yearbook called "The Ten-Foot Wax Man" and starts thinking about how to rig an alarm in a big lunchbox.

Leigh gets an "I'm sorry about the dog" note from his dad with $20 included.
Dad says to buy an ice cream with the money, which makes Leigh really mad.
Mom says his dad doesn't really mean for Leigh to get ice cream but that he feels really sorry about Bandit and Leigh should keep the money.
He works on his story and decides to save the money for a typewriter. (This is back in the day before computers.)