SHOT IN THE DARK Chapter 9

9



         The day of the party dawned bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky to mar the day.  “It wouldn’t dare.  Father wouldn’t allow it.”

         She had hoped something would come up to keep her from it, but nothing transpired.  She looked through her closet for a decent something to wear.  She never knew what to expect.  Should she wear a dress or pants?  Should she dress up, or down?  She decided to meet somewhere in the middle.  She decided on a pair of dress pants with a sleeveless tunic.  She had just made sure there weren’t any wrinkles in either when there was a knock on the door.

         Sophie barked and danced as she waited for her to answer the door.

         “Okay, already.  I’m coming.  I wonder who it could be at this hour of the morning.”  She

looked over at the clock.  “Ten o’clock.  Maybe someone is selling something.  She hurried to the door, peeked through the curtain, surprised to see Josiah there, and hurried to open it.  “This is a surprise.  Come in, and forgive my appearance.”

         He looked her up and down.  “I see nothing to forgive.  It looks like you just got up.  Do you always answer the door in robe and slippers?”

         He entered the house and followed her into the living room, while Sophie danced around him.  “Well someone is happy to see me.  Hiya girl.”  He stroked her head and scratched her ears as he followed her through to the living room.

         “I should be thankful I’m not in curlers too.  To what do I owe this surprise visit?”

         “You asked if I would go with you to your folks today.”

         “You turned me down, said you weren’t going to be my shield.”

         “I’m not, but you do need a friend, and if you are willing, I will go as your friend.”

         “They’ll make assumptions.”

         “Let them.  I’m still hoping to persuade you to be my girlfriend, remember?”

         “If you like, I’ll start the coffee, but I have to get ready.  The party starts at noon.”

         “That won’t be necessary.  I can wait until we get there.”

         “They won’t be expecting you.”

         “Will they be expecting you?  Did you even call them to let them know you were coming?”

         “If you’re going to insist on going with me, just make yourself comfortable, I have to get ready.”

         “Don’t mind if I do.”

         She left him sitting on the couch while she went back in her room, grabbed her clothes, and took them into the bathroom.

         She hadn’t heard from him in a week.  Not since he brought her home from the hospital.  What was she to expect?  Would he just show up when the whim grabbed him?

         The steam from the shower felt good as she hurried with it, and dressed in black dress pants and a mint green sleeveless tunic.

         She emerged from the bathroom to find him looking at her degrees on her living room wall.  “Well?”

         He turned to her and whistled.  “Beautiful.”

         “I just hope they think so, and I haven’t botched what to wear.  Somehow, I always miss it, so this time I thought I would meet in the middle.  What are you looking at?”

         “I think you’ll do just fine.  I was looking at your degrees and diplomas.  Usually people hang pictures on their walls, and degrees are found in work places.”

         “I prefer to hang mine here.  I don’t like to show off my degrees to the world.”

         “Why not?”

         She shrugged.  “I just never have.  Well you did solve one problem I had this morning.”

         “What was that?”

         “How I would get to mom and dads’.  It usually takes an hour alone with the bus system.”

         “Now you won’t have to worry about that.  Did you give them a call and let them know you’re coming?”

         She looked up at him a guilty look on her face.  “No.  I was hoping something would come up to get me out of it.”

         “I see nothing did, not even work.  How’s that working for you?”

         She followed him out the door and turned to Sophie before she locked it.  “Take care of the house, we’ll be back later.”

         He waited on the top step.  “Well?”

         “It’s been better and worse.  The eight hour work day didn’t go over very well, but it has cut down on the headaches.”

         “How has it been worse?”

         He handed her in the car.  “They treat me like a leper because I have some work restrictions.  I’m just waiting for the day they find something else about my work to complain about.  They can’t say anything right now, because when I hand in the drawings, I watch as he critiques them.  They’re quality, and he knows it, so he can’t say anything, or give them to someone else to alter them in any way.”

         He turned the ignition and pulled out of her driveway.  “If your work is quality as you say, why would you feel like they’re going to fire you?”

         “It’s just a feeling.  It’s hard to explain.”

         “I have those feelings too, and I always follow up on them.  I have the name and address of the other architectural firm Doc suggested.”

         “He gave it to you, why?”

         “He told me the name of the firm.  I already had it in mind.  We were in total agreement.”

         “I see.”  She watched out the window for a few minutes.

         “I take it I’m going in the right direction.”

         She looked at him, and realized he had no idea where her parents lived.  “I’m sorry.  Yes.  They live on Clairmont Avenue.”

         “The rich neighborhood.”

         “The snobbish neighborhood, you mean.  I grew up there, and the kids there were nothing but snobs.”

         “North or south?”

         “1659 South Clairmont Ave.”

         “The right side of the tracks, and you moved here.”

         “Yes, and I would again, without another thought.”

         A short while later he turned onto South Clairmont.

         “It’s the tan house, third down on the left.”

         There were a number of vehicles lining the street and in the driveway.  “Shall we?”

         She looked at the vehicles as she judged who was there.  “Well, it’s not just family.  They went all out for dad’s birthday.”

         He helped her from the car, and led her across the street and up the driveway.  Balloons hung on either end of a banner over the doors to the garage.  “Happy Birthday Ned” was written in huge colorful letters.

         “I smell a barbeque?” Josiah said.

         “No doubt dad is doing the honors.”  They rounded the garage to the back of the house and found themselves in the middle of a crowd of people.

         A woman broke free of the crowd and headed toward them.  “Well, look who’s here!”

         “Betty, this is Josiah, a friend, my sister.”

         “Aren’t you a surprise?  We don’t hear from you in forever, and here you are,” Betty said.

         “Yeah, it worked out.  I didn’t know if I would be able to get away or not.  Work has been hectic since I got back to work after a time in the hospital.”

         “You were in the hospital?  Why?”

         Another young man broke free of the crowd.  “Hey, little sister, glad you could make it.”

         “Mark, this is Josiah, a friend, my bother.”

         “It’s nice to meet you,” Josiah said.

         “To know me is to love me, ain’t that right little sister,” Mark said.

         “Sure, whatever,” Sarah said.

         “Dad is doing the honors, and mom is around here somewhere.  They weren’t expecting you,” Mark said.

         She saw her father standing in front of the grill.  By then people had started to make noise about her and he turned to see her, a smile on his lips.  “Hey, Margaret, Sarah’s here.”

         A woman came from the house with a platter of meat for the grill.  “Sarah, where?”  Then she spotted her.  “Oh there you are, and who’s that with you?”

         “A friend mother, dad, this is Josiah Christopherson.  He writes for a magazine.  That’s how we met.”

         “Where did you meet?” her father asked.

         “In the hospital.  She had gotten caught in the middle of a gang war on the way home from work one night,” Josiah said.

         “In the hospital?  I know you mentioned something about that, but I.”

         “I know mother.  You didn’t believe me as usual.”

         “So what happened,” Margaret said.

         “I sustained four gunshot wounds.  I was in the hospital for a month before Dr. Quimby would let me go home.”

         “Nothing serious, though,” Ned said.

         “Serious enough.  She was in ICU for three of the four weeks.  She almost died several times on the way to the hospital, in surgery, and in ICU before they were able to find the problem and get her stabilized,” Josiah said.

         “It’s that neighborhood you live in.  I told you when you found that place that it would be nothing but trouble.  Now see what I said?” Margaret said.

         “There is always an article in the paper, or it’s on the ten o’clock news.  Gangs, muggings, police calls.  It’s all there,” Ned said.

         “I don’t want to argue with you.  At least I’m alive, and I’m here to celebrate dad’s birthday, not make a big thing out of my being in the hospital.”

         “Well I think you should move out of that house and come back home.  I just don’t understand why you’re there in the first place,” Margaret said.

         “I’m there because it’s what I can afford, and it’s close to work so I don’t have to take a bus, since I don’t have a car,” Sarah said.

         “That house is a death trap.  I told you that the first day you moved in there.  I hope you did what I told you and took pictures of everything you own, so if that house ever goes up in smoke, you can make a claim on what you’ll lose,” Ned said.

         “I’m aware of the faulty wiring.  I’ve been after the landlord to fix it since I moved in, and yes, I took pictures of everything I own.  I also put it in a safety deposit box like you told me,” Sarah said.

         “I just hope it doesn’t catch fire while you’re asleep.  You’ll never survive,” Margaret said.

         “I’ll survive, and so will Sophie.”

         “You say that now, but what about when it happens,” Ned said.

         “You sound like it’s a foregone conclusion, Mr. Whitaker,” Josiah said.

         “Have you seen that house she lives in?  Of course you have, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.  It’s a death trap.  When she first moved in there, I went through it with a friend of mine who does house inspections before a person buys them, and he said it was a death trap,”  Ned said.

         “Yes, I’ve had a chance to look over the house while Sarah was in the hospital.  I took care of Sophie and her fish,” Josiah said.

         “And you’ve been taking care of Sarah since?” Margaret said.

         “Mother!  He’s a friend.  He drops by occasionally, but I have my work to keep me busy.”

         “I’m surprised you still have that job,” Margaret said.

         “And what do you mean by that?”

         “I mean, Willard is known for its high turnover.  I would have thought you would have been fired from there a long time ago,” Margaret said.

         “And prove to you that I don’t know what I’m doing?  Is that it?  Let me tell you, I’m very good at what I do.  I graduated with honors and an architectural license.  Just because you didn’t come to my graduation doesn’t mean I didn’t graduate.  I can show you my degree and my license anytime you wish.”  She turned to Josiah.  “Let’s go.”

         “Are you sure?” Josiah asked.

         “You haven’t had anything to eat,” Ned said.

         “You just got here,” Margaret said.

         “Happy birthday daddy.”  She turned and made her way back to the car.

         “Leaving so soon?  You just got here?” Betty said.

         She looked around to see her sister rush after her.  “I can’t do this.  They criticize everything I do, and they started in on Josiah.  I won’t let that happen.”

         “I’m sorry.  Give me a call, okay?”

         “Sure.”

         She almost ran to the car.  Josiah unlocked it and let her in.  Tears ran down her cheeks.  “I just wish for once they would be civil.  Now you can see why I don’t like going to these parties of theirs.”

         “Sounds to me like your father is concerned about where you live.  Let’s face it.  I’ve seen your house, and it is a death trap.  You need to find another place before it does go up in smoke.”

         “I’ll be fine.  Just take me home.  I just want to relax, take Sophie for a walk in the park.”  She looked across at him.  “It’s safe.  It’s broad daylight.  The kids love it when I bring Sophie, he plays Frisbee with them.”

         “Okay, we’ll stop and pick up Sophie and we’ll walk over to the park.”

         “You don’t have to come with me.”

         “Are you shoving me away too?”

         She looked at him.  “You’re serious you want me to be your girlfriend.”

         “Why wouldn’t I be serious?  I want to get to know the woman behind the mask.  What I see so far intrigues me.”

         “I don’t want to be a specimen in a bottle.  I just want to be left alone.  I told you that from the beginning.”

         “I’m going with you to the park, so get used to it, besides you haven’t eaten.  I’m sure you’re hungry.”

         “Not really.  I lost my appetite back there.”

         “I don’t want to make you angry again, but I don’t think you’re giving them a chance.”

         “Not giving them a chance?  I went didn’t I?”

         “Yes, but you went prepared for a fight.  You didn’t go there prepared to enjoy yourself.”

         “You heard them.  They had nothing good to say about me, about my work, or you for that matter.”

         “You are so busy pushing people away you can’t see how much they care about you.”

         “What do you know?”

         “Your father is so concerned about where you live he had a friend who does home inspections go through your home.  I’m sure he has his findings on file.  I’m also certain that as a professional inspector he turned his findings on the house to whomever they needed to go.  With you’re taking pictures of everything you own, and having it in a safety deposit box, if the house does go up in smoke, you can sue him for not doing what he had to do to keep the house in good condition, free from hazard.  When the house goes up in smoke, the house inspector just needs to turn over the information to the insurance company, and you turn in the pictures of your belongings, and he will be forced to replace all of it and no doubt pay a fine to the city as well.”

         She brushed at the tears running down her cheeks.  “Okay, so I give dad his due.  That doesn’t mean I give mom hers.”

         “I think we should go back.  You hurt both of them a lot by leaving the way you did.  You didn’t listen to anything they said, just looked at it as criticism, and nothing more.  You don’t know why your parents didn’t go to your graduation, and I’m guessing you never asked.”

         “I’ve lived in that house for three years, why all the talk about my house burning to the ground this year?”

         “In the past three years, we’ve had a lot of rain in summer, and snow in winter.  This year it’s tinder dry.  A spark could set it on fire, and before long it would rage out of control.”

         “That makes sense then, I guess.  You really think I should go back?”

         “I do, stop being the victim in your family, and shoving everyone away from you.  Give them a chance you’ll be surprised what you’ll find.  Now, we’re going back.”

         He turned the car around and headed back to the party.  Sarah watched through the window, afraid of what she would find when they got back.  “We need to go to the store first.  Everyone had brought something to eat.  I don’t have anything.”

         He turned the car in the direction of the nearest supermarket.  “Including a present for your father.”

         “I don’t know what to get him.”

         “You’ll think of something.”  He pulled into the parking lot and soon headed into the supermarket that was a lot more with everything a person could possibly need.

         She looked at the various different ideas that came to mind about what to take, and finally settled on chips and dip.  She grabbed several bags of different flavors as well as dips, and then headed for the other part of the store to see what she could find for her father.

         A short while later they were back on their way to her parent’s home.  “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

         “Stop that kind of talk.  You’re setting yourself up to be disappointed again.  Besides, I can take care of myself.”

         She looked at him.  “I never implied.”

         “You told your sister that your parents had started in on me and you wouldn’t allow that.  Am I given some hope in that statement?”

         She shrugged her shoulders.  “Whatever you want to think.”

         “It’s not whatever I want to think, I want to know it’s true.  Will you be my girlfriend, and stop shutting me out?”

         “It’s been a long time since I had a boyfriend.”

         “I’m guessing it’s been a long time since you had a friend, and I want to be that.”

         He stopped the car almost in the same place it had been before.  She could see the smoke from the grill behind the house, and looked across at him.  “I guess.”

         “Good.  Now let’s join the fun.”

         She rounded the corner of the house and with a lump in her throat, went over to her father.  “Dad.”

         He looked around to see her.  “You’re back.  I’m glad your mother will be too.”

         “I’m sorry.  I know you’re concerned about where I live.  I’ve done everything you told me, and I’ve been after the landlord to fix the house and get it up to code, but I came to celebrate your birthday, not talk about me and what I’ve been doing.  I brought you a little something, and some food for the party.”

         “I’ll take the food.”

         She turned at the voice.  “Tim.”

         “Yes.  Let me have that.  So what have you been doing with yourself, and who’s your friend?”

         She gave him the food, and walked over to the food table.  “Tim, this is Josiah, my brother.”

         “Nice to meet you, I met Mark earlier.”

         He turned to him when he put the chips and dips on the table.  “Yes, he said Sarah had shown up with an interesting person.

         “I don’t know about interesting.  I met your sister when she was in the hospital.”

         “I heard something about that.  Care to elaborate?” Tim said.

         “No, I don’t care to elaborate.”

         “So, Tim is it?  What do you do for work?” Josiah asked.

         Tim grabbed a beer from the cooler.  “Want one?”

         “Sure.”

         “I’m a welder.”

         “Independent?”

         “I work for Jacob’s Welding Shop.”

         “I’ve heard of it.  Good bene’s.”

         “I’m not complaining.  So how about you?  What do you do for a living?”

         “I work for a magazine, writing about the gangs and making people aware of the crime in our neighborhoods and what can be done to fix the problem,” Josiah said.

         “Can the problem be fixed?” another person asked.

         “Josiah my other sister, Katherine, Katy, my boyfriend,” Sarah said.

         “Boyfriend?  Betty was telling me you were here with a friend earlier, but didn’t say anything about a boyfriend.  It’s about time,” Katherine said.

         She blushed.  “Yeah, well, it’s on a trial basis.  We’ll see what happens.”

         “If I have anything to say about it,” Josiah said.

         She turned to him, opened her mouth, and closed it again.

         “Well, that’s a first.  Someone actually made you speechless,” Katy said.

         “I’ll keep that in mind,” Josiah said.

         “So, can something be done about the gangs in our neighborhoods?” Katy asked.

         “Yes, but people have to be willing to solve the problem, and so far finding people who are willing is difficult.  More people want to turn the other way, instead of acknowledge it.”

         “Hey Sarah, long time no see,” a woman said.

         She stood to her feet and gave the woman a hug.  “Aunt Ginny, it’s good to see you.  Yes, it has been a long time.”

         “I couldn’t exactly stay away from your father’s birthday.  I have to rub it in that he’s older.”

         “By how many years?” Sarah said.

         “Five, but who’s counting,” Ginny said.

         “Is Uncle Henry here?” Sarah asked.

         “Of course, and with you here, everyone is.  I know your mother was upset when you left earlier.”

         “I don’t think anything could upset her, unless something doesn’t go the way she wants it,” Sarah said.

         Josiah cleared his throat.  “What did we talk about?”

         She turned to him, and back at Ginny.  “I’m sorry.  I promised I would be on my best behavior.”

         “You must be Josiah, the boyfriend.  Word spread about you when you were here earlier.  So you got her to come back.  I should thank you, relations between her and her parents have always been difficult,” Ginny said.

         “Mom’s the difficult one.  She has never approved of me or anything I wanted to do,” Sarah said.

         Ginny pointed behind her.  Sarah looked behind her and saw her mother.

         “Your father said you were back, but I didn’t realize you were sowing discord.  You tell everyone you’re a Christian, and yet you don’t have anything nice to say about any of us,” Margaret said.

         “I came back because Josiah said it would be best, and to say I’m sorry about earlier.”

         “And yet your words just now don’t show that you’re sorry about anything.”

         “This is dad’s birthday.  Don’t you think we should just focus on him and not on our differences for a change?” Sarah said.

         “I was coming to find you and tell you I was glad you came back.  It means a lot to your father.”

         “Yes, well you did invite me.”

         “I just didn’t think you would come, and I’m glad you did.  I didn’t know about your trouble,” Margaret said.

         “What trouble?” Ginny said.

         “Josiah said she was in the hospital.  It’s how they met,” Margaret said.

         Ginny turned to her a shocked expression on her face.  “You were in the hospital?”

         “Yes, but I’m fine, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

         “What happened?”

         “I got caught in the middle of a gang war in the park, okay.  It’s over, I’m fine.”

         “And that’s how you met,” Tim said.

         “Yes.  I was in the park that night.  My dog, Dickens, found her.  She was in bad shape, and lucky to be here.”

         She rubbed her temple and a hand across her forehead.  “I’m fine.”

         Josiah showed some concern.  “Are you all right?”

         She looked at him.  “I’m fine.  I just don’t like all this talk about something that doesn’t matter.”

         “Do you have your pills?”

         “I don’t need them.”

         “Pills for what?” Margaret said.

         “Headaches.  She’s been getting a lot of headaches since the accident,” Josiah said.

         “Please.  It’s not about me.  It’s about dad.”

         “You’re wrong.  It’s about all of us.  We don’t get together very often to know what’s happening with each other,” Ginny said.

         “Look, it’s not about me.”  Her words slurred a bit and her vision blurred as pain shot through her head.

         “Sarah, look at me,” Josiah said.

         She turned her head his way, and winced at the pain.

         “Do you have your pills with you?”

         “My purse.”  She closed her eyes against the pain and the light.

         “Sarah, can you hear me?” Josiah said.

         She opened her eyes to find herself on the couch in the living room.  “What happened?”

         “You fainted.  I brought you in the house.  I have your pills and a glass of water,” Josiah said.

         She tried to sit up, but fell back against the pillow.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to ruin dad’s party.”

         “You didn’t ruin anything,” Ned said.

         She looked past Josiah to see her father and mother sitting across from her worried expressions on their faces.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have come.  I just ruin everything.”

         “I’m glad you came, and if you’re up to it, we’re ready to eat,” Ned said.

         “Yeah, okay.  I’ll be right out.”

         Her parents went outside, and Josiah held out a pill and a glass of water to her.  “Here take this first for your headache,”

         She took it and with his help stood to her feet.  “I’m sorry.”

         “When are you going to grow up?  This is your father’s party, not yours.”

         Sarah looked to see her in the doorway.  “I’m sorry, Tina, we can’t all be perfect like you.”

         “You always manage to make a scene of some kind.  Why did you come today?”

         “I was talked into coming today, so if you don’t mind,” Sarah said.

         Her mother stood in the doorway behind her.  “Tina, I’m glad Sarah came.  She’s still recovering from being in the hospital, and I for one am glad she came.”

         Sarah looked at her mother, and saw a faint smile on her face.  “Thanks.  I’ve been worried about coming, and I guess it just made things worse.”

         “Let’s not think anymore about it.  Let’s eat before it gets cold,” Margaret said.

         Tina scowled at her for the rest of the afternoon, and some of the other cousins looked at her with grim looks.

         “Don’t think about her,” Josiah said.

         “We’ve been rivals all our lives.  Tina couldn’t do anything wrong, and I couldn’t do anything right.  I would love to wipe the smirk off her face, but I won’t purposely ruin father’s party.”

         “Hey, I’m sorry you were in the hospital.  I heard about the gang war you were involved in a couple months ago in the park.  Though I didn’t know it was you.  The news and paper said it was a Jane Doe.”

         Sarah looked around to see another brother.  “Ken.  I haven’t seen you all afternoon.  Where have you been hiding out?”

         “Here and there.  I was on the archery range for a couple hours with Bob and Ryan.”

         “Ken this is my boyfriend, Josiah, another of my brother’s,” Sarah said.

         “I’m glad to meet you,” Josiah said.

         “You missed the food,” Sarah said.

         “There’s plenty, and dad is still cooking, so it’s okay,” Ken said.

         “Do you hunt?”

         “As much as I can, wherever I can.  Bow, though I don’t go in for guns.”

         “Where do you go?”

         “I go wherever the call of the wild takes me; whenever I can get away.  I own a sportsman’s shop.  I not only sell it, I use it, which is good for business.”

         “I’m sure it is,” Josiah said.

         “You know you’re the buzzword around the party?”

         “Not that I wanted to be, and Tina stuck her thorns in me earlier.”

         “That’s to be expected.  If she can’t be the focus of the party, she doesn’t want anyone else to be.”

         “I hoped it wouldn’t focus on me.  It is dad’s birthday after all.”

         “That might be, but you show up after how long, and with a boyfriend on your arm.  Who’s not going to talk?”

         “Yeah well, I didn’t want it to be about me.  I just wanted to blend in and stay out of the way.”

         “Mom was hoping you’d come.  She really didn’t know you were in the hospital.  She said you called a few weeks ago when you missed another of these get togethers.”

         “I told her I was in the hospital, she didn’t believe me.”

         “Because you’re never sick.  Tell me, when was the last time you were sick?  Everyone else gets something once in a while, but not you, and all of a sudden you’re in the hospital.”

         “I haven’t been sick since I was a kid.  Chicken pox I think.”

         “I seem to recall that.  You had it pretty bad, covered in spots.”

         “All I remember is how bad I itched.  I was miserable.”

         “Yes, and covered in lotion.”

         “I hated the smell of it.  I never want to smell that stuff as long as I live.”

         “If I remember correctly, Tina had chicken pox at the same time.”

         “Yes, but she wasn’t covered in spots like I was.  She gloated about it every chance she got.”

         “So Josiah, right, what do you do for a living?”

         “That’s right.  I write for a magazine, getting the word out about the gangs in the city,” Josiah said.

         “Something needs to be done about that.  Every day you hear about another gang or gang war that’s popped up,” Ken said.

         “I try to bring awareness to the community and give ideas on how we can stem the flood of gang wars in our parks and neighborhoods.”

         “The worst neighborhood park is the one close to where Sarah lives.  All you have to do is listen to a police scanner for a few minutes, and you hear about trouble there.”

         “Just so you know, I don’t take that way home anymore,” Sarah said.

         “I didn’t know you did.  I’m glad you stopped,” Ken said.

         “Well, it’s been a long afternoon, and I want to get home, take Sophie for a walk, and call it a day.”

         “I heard you fainted earlier.  Are you okay?”

         “I’m fine.  I just had a bad headache, all the stress.”

         “I can imagine, and Tina I’m sure didn’t help it any,” Ken said.

         “No she didn’t.  I’m going to say goodbye to mom and dad.  Take care.”

         They hugged.  “You too.  Try not to be a stranger.”

         “Just one day at a time.  I’m sure I haven’t heard all the fallout from today.”

         Ken put his hand out to Josiah.  “Welcome to the family.”

         He took it, a grin on his face.  “Thank you.”

         “Hey, not so fast.  We’re not getting married or anything,” Sarah said.

         “No, but I did hear a rumor that he is your boyfriend.”

         Sarah blushed bright red.  “It’s time to go.”

         A short while later they were on their way.  “Now that went better than you expected,” Josiah said.

         “I guess it did.  I’m sorry I stressed out.  I always get nervous whenever I’m around everyone, and Tina didn’t make it much better.”

         “Tell me about it.”

         “Nothing to tell.  We’re the same age.  She always bragged about her grades on her report card, and one day I showed her mine.  She’s been trying to one up me since.”

         “Still want to go to the park?”

         “Yes.  Sophie needs a walk, so do I.  I need to relax after this afternoon.  My neck and shoulders hurt, and there’s still a throb in the back of my head.”

         “That’s because you’re wound as tight as a bowstring.  I’ll park the car in the driveway and we’ll walk to the park.”

         “You don’t have to come.”

         “I’ve staked my claim as your boyfriend.  I intend to keep that stake for a little while.”

         She looked at him with a faint smile on her face.  “Why, and how little a little while?”

         “You’re a mystery to me, Sarah Whitaker, and I like mysteries, and how long we last, well, I’m going to take that one day at a time.”