around and Christine walked out of the library behind me.
“‘ Christine!’ her mother yelled from inside the truck.
“‘ Hi, Mother, I’m okay. I promise. I’m okay,’ Christine said, making her way to the pickup truck.
“ She walked behind the truck and motioned to me. I scurried over to her. I looked at her, shocked that she was leaving so fast. Apparently, we were not even going to get in a proper goodbye. I looked down on her beautiful, long dark hair and gazed into her beautiful eyes. ‘I don’t know how to reach you.’
“‘ You know where I live; the town is small enough.’
“‘ Can you write down your address?’ I asked.
“‘ She certainly will not!” her dad snarled at me. ‘You keep my daughter out all night and you expect her to become a pen pal?’
‘“ Look sir,’ I said. “I need your address. Your daughter is very important to me. I know it’s hard to understand it right now. It’s even hard for me to wrap my brain around it, but I love your daughter.’
‘“ Now I’ve heard everything!’ Christine’s father yelled out to me. ‘This boy has clearly lost his mind. Christine, get in the truck or I’m going to call the cops on this whippersnapper.’
“ Christine looked up at me, stood on tiptoe, and kissed me on my forehead. I could tell she wanted to say more, but chose not to do so in front of her parents. ‘I’m sorry I have to go. You know the town I live in.’ With that, we parted for the first time. She went into the back seat of the truck. Her father took off and I was left there standing in the street, about a mile away from my motel.
“ I knew the coaches counted heads at 7:00 in the morning. So, if I ran as fast as I could, I could get back in time.”
Chapter Ten
Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 12:45 a.m.
“ Did you get back in time?” Sharee asked.
“ Yeah, I did.”
“ They never knew you were gone all night?” Sharee continued pressing.
“ Not one coach knew. I don’t think Douglas even knew for sure if I went.”
“ You never told him about her?”
“ I mean that night. I didn’t think Douglas thought I had it in me to go.”
“ Was that not in your personality before that?” Sharee asked.
“ I was a pretty basic guy. I’m still am. The truth of the matter is, the only time in my life I feel like I ever truly lived was when I have been with Christine.”
“ That’s beautiful.” Sharee stared at me as if she was trying to see right through me. Her eyes were expressive and she had a giant smile on her face. “This story is amazing. I would love to hear more.”
It was becoming real to me that the present-day Christine wasn’t showing up. It was a bitter pill to swallow. I sure hoped she was okay. Sharee, however, was making it bearable, waiting a little longer for Christine. I enjoyed reliving these experiences with Sharee, so I continued, “That first night memory kept me warm on many a night. I guess that was when I first realized that optimism and pessimism could exist in the same thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“ It means that as much as I wanted her and I hoped this it was ‘meant to be,’ the laws of nature were telling me otherwise.”
“ Laws of nature?” she asked with an odd smile.
“ Laws of physics. Laws of the universe. I just have known that being without her after that night has turned out to be the hardest thing I ever had to bear. Just like tonight. She didn’t show up.” I looked down at my watch and it was 11:00 o’clock. I thought about Christine, confused as to why she never showed tonight. She never called my cell. I guess I should have called her, but we have never been late, and maybe I was afraid. But now I felt the need to call her. “Can I ask you a question? Do you think I should call her this late?”
Sharee smiled and said, “I wouldn’t call her, I’d text her. Ask her if she is okay. Do you text?”
“I know how to text. I
“‘ Christine!’ her mother yelled from inside the truck.
“‘ Hi, Mother, I’m okay. I promise. I’m okay,’ Christine said, making her way to the pickup truck.
“ She walked behind the truck and motioned to me. I scurried over to her. I looked at her, shocked that she was leaving so fast. Apparently, we were not even going to get in a proper goodbye. I looked down on her beautiful, long dark hair and gazed into her beautiful eyes. ‘I don’t know how to reach you.’
“‘ You know where I live; the town is small enough.’
“‘ Can you write down your address?’ I asked.
“‘ She certainly will not!” her dad snarled at me. ‘You keep my daughter out all night and you expect her to become a pen pal?’
‘“ Look sir,’ I said. “I need your address. Your daughter is very important to me. I know it’s hard to understand it right now. It’s even hard for me to wrap my brain around it, but I love your daughter.’
‘“ Now I’ve heard everything!’ Christine’s father yelled out to me. ‘This boy has clearly lost his mind. Christine, get in the truck or I’m going to call the cops on this whippersnapper.’
“ Christine looked up at me, stood on tiptoe, and kissed me on my forehead. I could tell she wanted to say more, but chose not to do so in front of her parents. ‘I’m sorry I have to go. You know the town I live in.’ With that, we parted for the first time. She went into the back seat of the truck. Her father took off and I was left there standing in the street, about a mile away from my motel.
“ I knew the coaches counted heads at 7:00 in the morning. So, if I ran as fast as I could, I could get back in time.”
Chapter Ten
Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 12:45 a.m.
“ Did you get back in time?” Sharee asked.
“ Yeah, I did.”
“ They never knew you were gone all night?” Sharee continued pressing.
“ Not one coach knew. I don’t think Douglas even knew for sure if I went.”
“ You never told him about her?”
“ I mean that night. I didn’t think Douglas thought I had it in me to go.”
“ Was that not in your personality before that?” Sharee asked.
“ I was a pretty basic guy. I’m still am. The truth of the matter is, the only time in my life I feel like I ever truly lived was when I have been with Christine.”
“ That’s beautiful.” Sharee stared at me as if she was trying to see right through me. Her eyes were expressive and she had a giant smile on her face. “This story is amazing. I would love to hear more.”
It was becoming real to me that the present-day Christine wasn’t showing up. It was a bitter pill to swallow. I sure hoped she was okay. Sharee, however, was making it bearable, waiting a little longer for Christine. I enjoyed reliving these experiences with Sharee, so I continued, “That first night memory kept me warm on many a night. I guess that was when I first realized that optimism and pessimism could exist in the same thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“ It means that as much as I wanted her and I hoped this it was ‘meant to be,’ the laws of nature were telling me otherwise.”
“ Laws of nature?” she asked with an odd smile.
“ Laws of physics. Laws of the universe. I just have known that being without her after that night has turned out to be the hardest thing I ever had to bear. Just like tonight. She didn’t show up.” I looked down at my watch and it was 11:00 o’clock. I thought about Christine, confused as to why she never showed tonight. She never called my cell. I guess I should have called her, but we have never been late, and maybe I was afraid. But now I felt the need to call her. “Can I ask you a question? Do you think I should call her this late?”
Sharee smiled and said, “I wouldn’t call her, I’d text her. Ask her if she is okay. Do you text?”
“I know how to text. I
Similar Books
Unidentified Funny Objects 2
Robert Silverberg, Jim C. Hines, Jody Lynn Nye, Mike Resnick, Ken Liu, Tim Pratt, Esther Frisner
