Chapter 36.5 Late Night Drive

Davis, Coach Peggy, Connor and Daisy pulled up into Johnny’s crowded car lot to pick up Davis’ brand new….. well, not really brand new but it was new enough, Christmas truck…..

They maneuvered carefully around clumps of people milling about the lot, oo-ing and aa-ing at the vehicles on display. Some of the happy (pretend) shoppers were looking for…. just the right sports car to test drive, without any real intention of buying. They just wanted the ‘RUSH’ that came with racing down the highway in a fancy sports car, that was not their own. Other, more sober couples, totting small children, scrutinized family van possibilities, with every intention of taking advantage of the Christmas sale advertised on Johnny’s flashy billboard. In red and green Christmas lights it read……

CHRISTMAS SALE UNLIKE ANY OTHER!

40% KNOCKED OFF EVERY VEHICLE ON THE LOT!

DECEMBER 25TH THROUGH JANUARY 1ST

EVERYTHING GOES!

“Does this place e-v-e-r close?” Connor looked around in amazement at the large number of shoppers mingling about.

Davis chuckled. “This is the best time of year to sell cars, son. I don’t think a good salesman would dare close on a day like today.” Davis hopped up the two steps to Johnny’s prefab office building and went inside. After a few minutes of business, He came back out again jingling the keys to his new truck. “Look what I got!” he jingled the keys over his head once more for all to see.

“Alright!” Peggy cheered. “Now which one is it?” She looked around the lot with Daisy and Connor. They were all wondering which truck Davis had picked out for himself.

“It’s the Blue Ranger, right there” Davis pointed and everyone moved with him in that direction. “It’s only got 10,000 miles on it. I’m think’in I got a good deal.”

“N-i-i-i-ce” Connor praised the vehicle as he lightly tapped the tire with his foot. “New tires?”

“Yea, the tires and the paint job are new…” Davis turned to Peggy and smiled. “What’cha think purdy Peg? Wanna go for a ride?”

“You bet”

Davis opened the passenger door for her and was going to help her get in but Peggy started laughing. “I’ve been get’in in and out of cars for so long, Davis. You don’t have to do that.” She chuckled again as she climbed in.

“I wanna treat you nice Peg…… let me.” Davis returned sincerely. He shut the door and stuck his arm in the open window. Taking her hand, he looked intently into her face and repeated his words. “I like treat’in you nice, let me…..please.”

“O-kay, okay, don’t get all mushy on me. I can’t complain about your drive’in, if you’re all lovey-dovey.” Peggy mumbled in a flustered tone  as she began adjusting her seat to suit her.

Davis chuckled and patted the hood as he hopped around to the driver side and climbed in. “What’s there to complain about? I’m a great driver.”

“Put on your seat belt.” Peggy grinned playfully.

Davis knew, from the way Peggy smiled, that she was planning to have fun with him tonight. He revved the Ranger engine excitedly.

“How many tickets are you plan’in to get tonight, speedy” she giggled.

“None” Davis turned from Peggy and leaned out the window to speak to Connor. “I’m take’in this bossy-hot lady on the ride of her life. Don’t wait up and keep Daisy close to home.”

“You know the rule. You’re supposed to call if you’re out past midnight” Connor shook his cell phone at his Dad in a joking fashion.

Davis just smiled mischievously as he pulled out of his parking spot and did a slow zig-zag through the sea of car shoppers onto the highway.

Connor looked down at Daisy. “Should I be worried about those two?”

She shrugged her shoulders with a giggle as they walked back to the Firebird. “Not if he follows the same rules, he gives you.”

“Did you see ‘that look’ Coach Peggy gave Dad? I’m pretty sure he forgot all his rules, right then” Connor opened Daisy’s door and helped her in.

“They’ll be fine. It’s just us now.”

“That’s right, it’s just us now. They are going for a drive and so are we.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the CD of Daisy’s parents and popped it into the CD player. He pulled out onto the highway and drove in the direction of the coast.

“I’m so glad Pastor’s secretary was able to find this CD after so many years of storage.” Daisy shut her eyes and listened curiously as the voices of her parent’s filled the car. She tried to remember their faces from the photos that she’d seen as they told how they met in the church youth group and received Jesus for the first time.

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The words of Daisy’s parents on the CD:

Good evening. As a child, you knew me as Daisy Lynn Burns. Now, you know me as Daisy Lynn Greene, Raymond’s wife. I was born and raised right here in Clearwater, going to this church. My parents and my grandparents went to this church. I went to Sunday school every Sunday and church camp every summer. I grew up knowing about Christ.

I was an only child, just like Raymond. So I imagine I was sheltered and pampered more than other kids. I pretty much got whatever I asked for from my parents. I had no siblings to compete with, fight with, share toys or clothes with. Everything in the house was mine.

My parents could give me a lot of things. But there were a few things they could not give me. They could not give me peace of mind or contentment of heart. I was afraid of a lot of things too. They could not make that fear go away.

I was afraid of being alone.

I was afraid of people I didn’t know.

I was afraid of the future. What would I do when I grew up?

You see, my parents got married very late in life so by the time I hit my teen years, they were already 60 years old. Them getting older, right in front of my eyes, scared me. I was afraid they would die and I would be left alone.

My grandparents died when I was 14 years old. That was really what started me thinking about it.

And as loving and generous as my parents were, they could not take away my fear of being left alone or my fear of, what in the world was I going to do when I grew up. I really had no clue, of what my future was gonna be. I was scared.

Now, you all know, my two very best friends in the whole wide world are Debbie and Vanessa. I shared my fears with them. They encouraged me to trust in Jesus Christ and give these fears, that I was battling with, to Him.

It might seem strangely simple to you but that is really all I did. I just confessed my fears to Him and asked Him for help. Confidence, that He was with me began to rise up in my heart and fear of being along evaporated into just an old ugly memory. I mean… I remember… that I was afraid back then but I don’t feel it… any more. It’s so simple. I almost feel silly telling you that that is all I did. But that is how my relationship with Jesus began.

Now, I didn’t know Raymond back then. He was an Army brat and didn’t live in Clearwater until his father got stationed here. I met him in high school. He was the new boy on the block. He didn’t know a soul. I felt sorry for him and tried to be his friend at first but his mouth was awful! He could curse the paint right off a wall! That really turned me off, so after the first couple of days of meeting him, I quit hanging around him.

Raymond chuckles, slightly embarrassed by that. Then he begins to speak……

She didn’t want to hang around me but I sure wanted to hang around her. I liked her straight from the get-go. She showed me where all my classes were the first few days of school. But after that…. she gave me the big brush off. I kept trying to sit with her at lunch time but…. it was a-big-no-go. She snubbed me big time. She broke my heart. (Raymond said this all in fun, with a big smile on his face and some playful drama in his voice)

Congregation laughs at Raymond’s dramatic tone….then he continues…..

One Sunday morning I was skateboarding around the neighborhood and I saw her walking across the street to this church with her parents. So….. I made it a habit to skate down this road every Sunday morning.

Congregation laughs again….

After a few Sundays of just skateboarding past her, I finally got up the nerve to approach her and introduce myself to her parents. It was actually her mom that invited me to church. I sort of just tagged along that Sunday. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Daisy wouldn’t say more than hello to me but I followed her around church just like a lost puppy.

Congregation laughs again. Davis and Matt both holler out, “We remember those lost puppy days! We remember!”

After a Sunday or two, I struck up friendship with Matt Langley and Davis Bailey. I started hanging out with them at church and also at school, instead of following Daisy around.

They encouraged me to quit drinking and cursing. But it seemed impossible to me. I craved beer in such an uncontrollable way. I couldn’t seem to quit and I did curse a lot, just like Daisy said. But I never really noticed it, until they started pointing it out to me.

I told Matt that I couldn’t quit. He prayed for me and we asked Jesus to help me. That’s when the ball really started rolling in my life. It’s like God gave me a little more control over myself and my life. He gave me the strength to say no, to the things I wanted to say no, to.

Then one night, Matt, Davis and I went bowling. And guess who was in the lane next to us?

Congregation shouts out, “Daisy, Vanessa and Debbie!”

You got it! That night, Daisy decided she’d give me another chance. She talked to me that night and she’s been talking to me non-stop ever since!

Congregation laughs again….

I married her as soon as her Dad let me and now we have a beautiful baby girl. (Raymond carefully held out the new baby girl, that had been sleeping in his arms, while they spoke. His movements caused little baby Daisy Ray to wake and start crying so he quickly passed her to her mother, Daisy Lynn. The crying, came out loud and strong on the CD for Connor and Daisy to hear. They also heard the crying fade out as Daisy Lynn walks away from the mike to feed the baby in her arms.)

Raymond closes their testimony time with..….

God gave us a beautiful daughter, I hope she grows up to be just like her mother. God is good. Thank you for letting us share.

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“They have nice voices, don’t they” Daisy said after a while.

“Yep, you sound just like your Mom” Connor pointed out.

“Their voices sound so familiar….but…” Daisy drifted off in her thoughts.

Connor smiled. This moment that they were having in the car, was as close to meeting Daisy’s parents as they had ever come to before. He was glad to be sharing this important experience with her. When the CD came to a close Connor pulled into the Boardwalk parking lot and parked.

He hopped out and went around to her door and opened it for her. He then leaned against the front hood and held his arms open wide in her direction with a warm smile. “Come here Babe.” He encouraged softly.

Daisy walked into his arms and positioned herself to face the ocean with him. She lay the back of her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his warm arms around her, keeping the December chill at bay. They looked at the rushing waves and listened to its powerful sound for a long while. Their minds were full of all that Raymond and Daisy Greene said on the CD.

Daisy finally voiced a question “Do you think my parents can see me from where they are?”

“I really couldn’t say.”

“I wonder what my life would be like, if they were here to raise me, instead of my grandparents?”

“I think life would be a little bit different if they were around. Ya know…. one time…. Dad and I sat up super late and watched a horror movie on TV. My God, that movie scared me to death. Dad said that if Mom had been around, neither one of us would have been allowed to watch that movie. She would have had us both in bed by 9:00 every single night.” Connor smiled at the thought of being in bed by nine.

“In bed by nine and no scary movies for you, young man” Daisy teased.

Connor chuckled at her lighthearted comment.

“Grandpa Joe says it’s Mom’s fault that I sleep late.” Daisy softly confided.

“Why does he say that?”

“Well, he says, Mom liked me to stay in bed in the mornings so she could be with my Dad before he left for work. Grandpa thinks that Mom taught me to sleep late when I was a new born.”

Connor chuckled. “That sounds like a load of crap to me. How could she teach you that in such a short amount of time? Grandpa Joe just can’t come to grips with the fact that it is normal, for people to sleep past 5am.”

“Maybe, but Grandpa says that if she were around everybody would be sleep’in til ten….” Daisy sighed, “I wish she were around.”

“Yea.. me too..” He hugged her tight. “We miss’em, but one day we will see’em again.” He whispered in her ear.

“Until then… we’ll just stick together, hu.” Daisy smiled as she pulled Connor’s arms tighter around her waist.

Connor squeezed her as tight as he could. “Yea Babe, we’ll just stick together.” He lay his head on top of hers and rocked her. They watched the ocean roll in…… and roll out….. steadily.

They were quiet the rest of the night, just listening to God’s world and all that it was saying. It was saying quite a lot too. The pounding of the waves, whistling of the wind, crying of the gulls and the sound of two hearts beating together in perfect harmony, all of these things combined, made a beautiful voice of praise and thanks, directed upwards the Lord. And all was well in God’s, Connor’s and Daisy’s world.

Dear Reader, I can’t wait to see what Daisy and Connor are up to next week. Chapter 37 is entitled Daisy’s Driving and Running w/Friends ….. hummmm,  J

Bart Millard It Must Be You

Dear daisydesk friends,

I came across a beautiful song recently, and well…..

What can I say….

It has captured my attention and melted my heart.

Bart Millard sings it from the perspective of the Israelite leader, Moses.

He did an amazing job of catching the passion that ran in Moses’ veins.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCSWDHGq2L8

Click on the youtube site. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Chapter 36.5 Late Night Drive, of Daisy and Connor’s World , will be posted in a few more days.

But for now, please take time and enjoy this song, J

Chapter 36: Daisy’s Christmas Day

After Connor left for the court house, Daisy’s day slowed down.

She soaked in the bathtub with Honeysuckle bath beads for so long, that the entire house smelled like Honeysuckle by the time she was done. Then she took her sweet time picking out what she wanted to wear and painting her toenails to match. “Blue polish with silver glitter, Connor’s favorite Christmas colors.” She mused dreamily.

Then she commenced bumming around the house, that is…. until Rose and Joe called her into the kitchen, to help them prepare the Christmas dinner. The Bailey’s and Coach Peggy would be eating with them when court was done. So…. while Rose and Joe put the finishing touching on the holiday meal, Daisy set the table.

When the dinner preparations were done, she followed Rose into the back bedroom and sat on a corner of the bed, while Rose wrapped the last of her Christmas packages. Of course, Daisy was forbidden to look at anything, so she had to sit there with her eyes shut. It didn’t really matter because she had already received her most important gift. Daisy stifled a joyous giggle as she peeked, with one eye, at the ring on her finger.

“That is a pretty ring you have on your hand, Daisy.” Rose noticed “When did you get it?”

Daisy smiled dreamily. “Connor gave it to me this morning.” She rolled out across the bed, holding her hand high in the air, looking at the ring on her hand. “We picked them out together at the Mall.” She added sweetly.

“Oh, so he’s wearing one too then.”

“Of course” Daisy furrowed her eyebrows, slightly irritated by the comment.

Rose chuckled at Daisy’s defensive reaction.

The door bell rang…….

Daisy tumbled off the bed and shot out of the room like a rocket, leaving Grandma Rose in stunned shock at her speedy departure.

Daisy galloped down the hall and swung the front door open! “Connor!” She jumped into his arms!

Connor dropped the packages he was holding, in order to catch her flying form. “Geez….” He laughed at her wild excitement. “Did you miss me Babe?!”

“Yes, I did, I missed you!” she admitted as she hugged him tight, refusing to let him go!

“Great day girl, you scared the tar out of me!” Davis, who was behind Connor, exclaimed in shock! “Let the boy go! You’re gonna squeeze the air right out of him!” Davis then pushed his way passed the lovebirds into the house. “How does a little girl get so fast….. it’s dang scary!”

“I know it, I know it, isn’t she the fastest thing” Peggy agreed as she made her way around the lovebirds into the house. Then with her big booming coaches voice, she added “Merry Christmas everybody, let’s get this party started!”

Rose and Joe hugged Davis and Peggy “Merry Christmas, to the both of you! We’re so glad you were able to make it! We were not sure what time to expect you.”

“Yea well, we got out of there purdy quick” Davis murmured as he passed them into the living room.

Davis’s tone gave Joe and Rose an uneasy feeling. They followed Davis into the living room wondering what his tone meant.

After Connor calmed Daisy down enough to let go of him, they picked up the packages and came inside to join the group. He placed his packages under the Christmas tree. Peggy and Davis did the same thing. Then they all took a relaxing seat in the living room, ready to discuss the court hearing.

Joe looked Davis in the eye. He could tell that something was bothering him. “What happened at the court house, Davis?”

Davis rubbed his forehead for a minute, thinking how to start.

His slowness of speech alarmed Daisy. She shot Connor a suddenly worried look.

He just smiled his usual carefree smile and scratched her back, in an attempt to take her worry away. “It’s ok Babe” he whispered. “Just give Dad a chance to explain.”

Davis cleared his throat. “Well….. we were there in court right on time… but that Mr. Adams…. he never showed his face. He paid bail, promising that he would not leave the country or skip out on his court date. But he sure enough high-tailed-it.” Davis looked at Joe “We were advised to keep a good eye on Daisy and Connor. The Langley’s were also advised to keep a good eye on Maria and Andy. The police aren’t sure if Mr. Adams will try to escape the country or go on some kind of vengeance rampage.” Davis shook his head.

“I thought the Judge refused to give him bail.” Daisy said.

“Well, this is a different case with a different Judge. He was allowed bail with the second Judge.” Davis explained.

“Escape the country….” Joe huffed “Where’s that jack-ass gonna go?”

“Well….he seems to have some pretty tight connections with Brazil.” Coach Peggy pointed out.

*Humph* Joe squirmed in his chair. “He’ll be caught the minute his ugly mug hits an airport cameras.”

“He has his own plane.” Coach Peggy added with a tinge of disgust. “He could already be out.”

“I think he’s left the country, Dad. I don’t think he would come looking for us. He would be an idiot to come after us now.” Connor shared his view.

“I’m not so sure, son. Mr. Adams doesn’t really think like a normal man.” Davis stared at the ground, thinking for a while longer….. then looked back up at Joe. “I know you and Rose like to travel a lot….. but we could really use your help here….. just until this guy is locked up again. I don’t like Daisy sleeping over here by herself. I would prefer that you two be here in the apartment with her. Could you cancel your next trip and hang around the house some….. just until this guy is caught?”

“You think he’ll come around here?” Rose queried with alarm.

“I got no idea” Davis shrugged.

“I believe you’re right, Davis.” Joe agreed, then he turned to Rose “Get on the computer darling and cancel our tickets. I will call the Red Cross and explain that we need some time off.” Then he looked back at Davis. “Excuse us for a moment.”

After Joe and Rose exited the room, Davis turned to Daisy Ray. “I sure could use some of that eggnog of yours with a touch of happy juice in it. Did you see how I made my drink the last time?”

“Yes sir, I know how you like it. Peggy, do you want some?”

“Yes, that’d be nice. But I am not much for happy juice. You can skip that part, for my drink please.” Peggy chuckled as she repeated Davis’s words. As far as she knew, no one called alcohol, happy juice, but the Greene’s and the Bailey’s.

In the kitchen Connor started digging in the refrigerator to see what other types of drinks were available. “Ah… here we go… 1 lone peach tea.” He pulled it out and popped the top. “Split it with me, Day….”

“Sure” Daisy mumbled from inside a cabinet as she searched for Grandpa Joe’s happy juice. “Here it is.”

Connor leaned against the counter watching her. “You sure, you know what you’re do’in?” he took another swig of his tea with a skeptical look on his face.

“Well…. how hard can it be? He just poured a bit in, that was it.”

“It all depends on ‘how happy’ you want him, I guess.” Connor chuckled at his little joke.

“Yea, I guess.” She smiled as she put the finished drinks on a tray and turned for a sip of his tea.

Connor’s eyebrows furrowed with a disturbing thought. “I hope all this stuff with Mr. Adams doesn’t scare you any.”

“No, I’m ok. I believe what you do. Mr. Adams should be more interested in trying to leave the country than chasing us around. He’ll be caught soon enough.” She stated confidently. “Plus….” she grinned with a new thought. “…after Andy’s prayer…. I’m now fast as lightening, mean as hell and can kick without guilt, remember?!” she and Connor both laughed at the memory of Andy’s prayer.

“Yea ok hot shot, since you’re so tough, I’ll just stick with you.” He walked over and pulled her up close to him. “I want to add something to that prayer of Andy’s. Can I?”

“Kay” She lay her head on his chest, listening.

Connor placed one hand on her hair and petted it slowly as he held her close. “Dear Lord, watch over Daisy and Maria. Keep’em safe. I also ask that Mr. Adams be caught real soon. Amen.” He kissed the top of her head softly. “If you need to go somewhere, tell me and I will take you, ok?”

“Kay.” Daisy remained in his arms for a few minutes, just enjoying the moment.

“Are you gonna give Dad his drink before…. or after Christmas?”

“Oh yea, the drinks” She carefully took the tray and left the kitchen, with Connor close behind.

In the living room, Davis had his arm around Peggy, talking quietly. Daisy placed their drinks on the coffee table in front of them.

Joe came back into the room. “Well, our flight plans are all cancelled. We will just hang around the house for a while until this Mr. Adams mess is cleared up.” Joe sat back down in his lazy-boy chair. “We didn’t much feel like going on that trip anyway, did we dear.” Joe looked at Rose as she returned to the room.

“No, they don’t really need us. There is another couple who is just as capable as Joe and I at running that fund raiser. I’m glad to stay home. Now it’s dinner time. Is anyone hungry?”

Connor grinned hungrily. “Dinner sounds great to me! I’m starving!”

“You’re always starving, Connor” Rose laughed as she went around the room turning on all the Christmas lights. Next, she dimmed the over head electric lights. The soft shades of the Christmas lights sparkled their colors throughout the room, creating a lightly romantic, peaceful kind of atmosphere.

The dining table was set with Rose’s Christmas china. Everything was red, green or blue. Grandpa Joe placed a large Christmas ham in the center of the table. He had carefully sliced it earlier in the day. (While the ladies were busy elsewhere in the house) Rose set mashed potatoes, collard greens, corn bread, and a broccoli casserole on the table.

“My goodness Rose you have really out done yourself” Peggy and Davis marveled at the table set before them.

“Thank you, I hope you all enjoy eating it as much as Joe and I enjoyed making it.” Rose said as she sat down in her chair.

Joe stood at the head of the table clearing his throat. “Well, we have a lot to be thankful for… and hu….. this time around….. I thought I would give a shot at saying so to God, myself…. you know direct like.”

Everyone bowed their heads.

Joe cleared his throat again. “Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for another lovely meal together with my family. Each member of this little family of mine…. is so very special to me. And what can I say about Peggy….. my goodness…. we are all so happy that Davis has found her. Please bless their upcoming wedding.  For last…I’d like to ask that you assist the police in locating and apprehending Mr. Adams as quickly as possible. May he not have another chance to hurt, anyone else. In Jesus name Amen.” Joe sat down quickly. He was still red as a tomato, as he always was whenever it came to praying but there was a new twinkle in his eye to match the red glow of his cheeks.

He was extremely happy that he didn’t seem to need someone else to talk to God for him. He could now do it himself, without help. He liked that. He had been experiencing this new freedom in prayer ever since he prayed a prayer of repentance with Mr. Langley during the Thanksgiving service a while back and frankly speaking, he was enjoying his new freedom immensely.

Joe graciously held his hands out to his family. “Please everyone, help yourselves to the food.”

Everyone began picking up dishes in front of them and passing them around. They all dug in with great gusto, appreciating the meal, family and the peaceful atmosphere that encompassed them all.

This time, when the meal was over, Daisy was the one who pushed up her sleeves to do the washing, while Connor brought the dishes to her from the table.

The others went into the living room to stretch out and relax.

When Daisy finished the last dish, she dried her hands and started to fix her sleeves but Connor took over and buttoned them for her then he combed his hands into her hair. “I love mess’in with your hair.” He smiled with fascination as the wild mass bounced from his hands.

“I might wash dishes more often if I knew I’d get this kind of attention at the end of it.”

“You don’t have to wash dishes for attention from me.” He leaned in and gave her a simple kiss.

“What do I have to do then?” she smiled sweetly, curious as to what his answer might be.

“Just be my Daisy” He stuck his hands into her hair and watched it fall again. “That’s so cool”

“When we have our own house, will you kiss me every night after the dishes are done?”

“Every night for sure, you know how I am about traditions.”

“So…. can I consider this our new family tradition? Right next to get’in water on my head whenever you win a race?” she giggled.

Connor tapped her shoulders, one at a time, just like she were a knight. “I dub you, the most kissable girl in all the land. You are to be kissed, every night, exactly after dishes, without fail. It is now a permanent tradition in the world of Connor and Daisy.” He declared in an official type voice.

“It is now a permanent tradition in the world of…. God, Connor and Daisy.” She corrected.

“That’s right, God, Connor and Daisy. It’s done.” He agreed with all his heart.

In the living room, everyone sat around the Christmas tree chatting. Connor and Daisy came in and took their place on the couch. Rose went to the tree and pulled out some gifts.

“Here Peggy, this is from Connor and Daisy.” Rose handed the present to Peggy and everyone watched curiously as she opened it.

“Oh, it is beautiful! Thanks, you guys!”

“When we saw the silver frame at the store, Connor and I could just see you and Davis inside it.”

“I think I can see us in it too.” Peggy looked at Davis warmly. Davis gave her a squeeze and kissed the side of her face affectionately.

Rose picked up another gift. “Here Joe darling, this is for you! It is from me.” Rose’s eyes were bright. She wanted to see his face when he opened it.

Joe opened the small package. “WOW! Thaaaaank Yooooooou-whooooo darl’in! It’s 2 tickets to the next Jaguar football game! This is great!” Everyone cheered right along with Joe and tried to get him to promise the second ticket to them. Of course, the second ticket was going to Rose without question but they tried anyway.

Rose passed around a few more gifts. She finally came across a small box from Davis. “Here ya go, Connor, this is for you” Rose tossed the tiny box in his direction and he caught it mid-air. When he opened it he found the car keys to the Firebird inside.

“What’s this, Dad?”

“Well son, I think you need your own car. I bought a truck this week, for myself. It is still sitting on the lot, of course. You and I can go pick it up later. But I want to give my Firebird to you. There is one condition though.” Davis smiled.

“What’s that?”

“I want you to teach Daisy to drive it. Her birthday is coming up in February. and I imagine she will want her license when she hits 16.” Davis winked at Daisy. “Won’t ya darling”

“Yes sir, I would” Daisy beamed a beautiful smile for his thoughtfulness.

“So Connor, help your old man out by teaching her to drive. I’m scared too.” Davis winked again in Daisy’s direction. Daisy playfully roller her eyes at him this time. “……and you two can share the car together.” Davis smiled at his son, proud that he had a son that he could trust.

“Thanks Dad! That’s great!” Connor was surprised and happy at the same time.

“After we finish here we can drive down to the lot and pick up my truck.”

“Great” Connor agreed enthusiastically.

Rose then passed around a few more gifts until the only gifts left under the tree were for people who had not come by the house yet.

“I’ll get a trash bag for all this wrapping paper on the floor.” Peggy offered.

“That’s a good idea.” Rose began balling trash up in her lap.

Peggy moved around the room bagging trash as Joe made more eggnog drinks for himself and Davis.

Connor turned to Daisy on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered. “The Pastor came by the other day to see me.”

“About what”

“He found that CD of your Dad and Mom giving their testimony in church. He brought it over and gave it to me.” Connor whispered in her ear. “After we go get Dad’s truck, do ya wanna take a drive and listen to it?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“Come on Connor, Peggy and I are ready to go.” Davis boomed as he grabbed the trash bag from Peggy.

Connor took Daisy’s hand. “Right behind ya Dad”

Down stairs, Davis tossed the trash in the dumpster and they were off to fetch Davis’s brand new Christmas truck.

Dear Friends, Chapter 36.5 Late Night Drive, is up next.  Have a great week. J

Chapter 35: Promise Rings and Boardwalk Runs

Christmas morning started with an early bird phone call from Connor. “Merry Christmas Babe, you up yet?”

“No……” Daisy yawned and stretched, quietly. “Not yet”

He leaned back into his pillow, amused by her morning noises. Shutting his eyes, he envisioned her smiling face. “Come on Babe, take a run with me.”

“Ok…” she yawned again. “It will take me a minute to get dressed and tell Grandpa.”

“I’m coming over, I will talk to Grandpa for you so you can get out quicker.”

“Kay, see you in a few minutes” Daisy rolled over in bed and blinked blankly at the red numbers on her alarm clock. “5A.M……looks like Connor caught Grandpa’s early-bird disease again” She mumbled sleepily. “God, help me get up” She didn’t want to keep Connor waiting so she whispered a few more worded to her prayer “And please….please help me not take too long getting ready. Amen.” She stared at the spot on the floor, where she wanted to be standing. “Ready…..on your mark……get set……GO!”

Quick as a whip, she jumped out of bed. “Aaaa…bird-turds….” she bent over and grabbed her calf muscle. “Man…, they’re so tight, better stretch those babies out first” She went to her wall and stood about three feet away from it. Placing her hands square on the wall in front of her, she leaned forward slowly, making sure to keep her feet flat. Very slowly she did 10 push-ups against the wall. Then she did a few stretching lunges, making sure again, that her feet remained flat and pointing forward. “There we go, that should do it. Now… for running clothes….” Her black and white jogging set was out of the drier and hanging in her closet, right in front, where she could see it easily. “Humm…., looks like pray’in really does help” she pondered this thought as she got dressed and wandered down the hallway.

The doorbell rang the moment she entered the living room. ”Perfect timing….” opening the door, she greeted Connor with a gentle morning hug. “Missed you” she whispered in his ear.

He closed his eyes enjoying her affection for a moment. “Did you tell Grandpa Joe we were going to the beach yet?”

“Not yet…” She reluctantly let go of him and they walked into the kitchen.

Grandpa was in the kitchen making pancakes.

“Mmm…, smells great in here.” Connor breathed deeply.

“Good morning Grandpa, Merry Christmas.” Daisy gave her Grandpa a hug too.

“Merry Christmas!” He boomed!  ”Are you two ready for breakfast?”

“Can we run first, then eat? It’s easier on the stomach, that way.” Connor asked.

“Sure, that’d be fine.”

“Great, thanks Grandpa. We will be back in an hour or two.”

Joe pointed to the tied up trash in the corner of the kitchen. “Take the trash out on your way down.”

“Sure” Connor grabbed the trash bag and they were out the front door. In the hallway, he grabbed the trash bag that was sitting in front of his own apartment door and carried both bags down the stairs to the dumpster and threw them in.

Daisy turned on the hose that was in the parking lot area so Connor could rinse his hands off.

“Thanks Babe” He flicked his wet hands in her direction then took off running.

“Aaaa… Connor…” she giggled as she turned the water off as quickly as possible.

Christmas morning was bright, clear and chilly. The sun was peeking out from behind the one and only cloud in the sky. You could hear the gulls calling from the dunes. ‘Feed me, Feed me.’ The salty air was so fresh and clean smelling, it invigorated you immediately.

Connor and Daisy jogged down the street, side by side, enjoying the beautiful morning together. When they hit the boardwalk, they turned to the right and picked up pace. Their light feet patted the wooden platform in unison. Raising their eyes, they watched the gulls play in the sky.

“The gulls are everywhere this morning.” Connor noticed with amusement.

“Yea, we must have just missed the fishermen.” Daisy concluded as she watched the gulls circle and dart about, hungrily.

The ocean pounded out its welcome to the runners and Connor responded to the ocean’s encouragement by speeding up. He stretched out his legs and released them to run freely. He glanced at Daisy to see if his pace stressed her any. But he found her eyes to be bright and her breathing to be quiet. There did not seem to be any stress in her countenance anywhere. He noticed her legs, they were not as long as his but her stride was good. He was secretly impressed with how someone so short could compete with other long legged athletes and keep up with them so well. He wondered to himself how fast she would be in 11^th and 12^th grade. If she continued to improve at this rate she might even end up faster than Maria. Wouldn’t that be something. He’d never seen any girl beat Maria but…… that could change any day.

“Hey Day, I read this article recently about how our feet  are like springing mechanisms. If we take time to practice a bouncier step, it is suppose to help our running. Wanna try?”

“Sure”

Connor slowed down, almost to a walking pace, then lifting his knees high, he began springing forward with smaller but higher steps, like a prancing horse might do.

With a little giggle, Daisy copied him.

For maybe, 1/8th of a mile they practiced bouncy, prancing type steps.

Then Connor made a sudden switch to skipping. He continued to lift his knees high and spring from the platform as high as he was able go but he also added a skip to it.

Daisy copied his new action. Lifting her knees, she sprang up and skipped forward. It took all her energy and focus to do it correctly so she wasn’t able to giggle even though she wanted to. It was really a lot of fun.

They practiced a springing-skip for a while longer then returned to free style running.

They were almost to the birdwatchers station now. Connor wondered, if he picked up pace again would Daisy be happy about it? Or would it stress her out and disappoint her? Sometimes, she would get angry about him getting ahead of her. She liked him to stay with her, but he secretly loved to push her and see her at top speed. He wondered what he should do…..

This was Christmas day, the day he wanted to give her a promise ring, maybe he shouldn’t risk it. He debated back and forth in his head. He finally decided not to push her further, not today. He remained at the pace he was going, just happy to be running with her.

Then out of the blue she stretched out past him, just a stride or two. Her effort excited him but he kept to his planned pace, not daring to push her on their ring exchanging day. If she could push herself, he would enjoy watching that, just as much as if he were doing it himself.

She turned her head slightly in his direction. “Why aren’t you trying?” she breathed the words softly.

“Do you want me too?” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course”

She then focused again on the birdwatchers benches ahead and pushed out another two strides. He grinned. Her effort again excited him! It must be Ok since she asked him too so he pressed in and stretched out. He began to fly at his best and she took her place behind him. He stretched out farther ahead her! They both flew at their best speed and enjoyed the thrill of it exceedingly.

They finally hit the birdwatchers station and ran in circles around the center bench attempting to slow down. After a few circles, Connor grabbed Daisy around the waist and hugged her energetically! “Thanks Day-Day! That was great!” He swung her around playfully.

Daisy laughed and soaked up his affection and truly enjoyed the show of his strength in running. They jumped on top of the bench that faced the ocean and stood there holding hands, looking out over the rumbling waves, breathing in the cold ocean air.

After a few deep breaths, Connor spoke again. “Daisy, will you wear my ring now?” His eyes were bright with the excitement of his run and his invitation.

Her smile enlarged to its fullest size “Of course I will. Did you bring them?”

He pulled the box from his pocket and held it out for her to see.

Her eyes began to tear up as she reached for the little box in his hand. Her hand shook and she pulled it back and wiped her tears instead. Then she started laughing at herself, embarrassed by her inability to cope with the excitement. “I’m sorry” she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes, willing the tears to leave.

Connor sat down on the railing with his back to the ocean and his feet firmly planted on the bench. “Come here” He softly said as he pulled her closer to him.

She stood in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He gently pulled her closer again and lay his head against her. He could feel her hands still shaking against the back of his shoulders and he hugged her tighter. “Relax Daisy.” He said quietly.

She slowly sat on his knee and hugged him. “I’m sorry Connor. I don’t know why I am crying. I’m just so worked up and excited. My system is just freaking out.” She laughed at herself for crying, again.

“We can wait a minute.” He sat there, holding her quietly for a good long while.

Then she wiped her face off on his shirt which made her start laughing again. “I did the same thing that, that little boy in Sunday School did. It is not liquid cement. It will come out with water.” She was now red with embarrassed at the mess she was making of their special moment. “Sorry” she giggled through her tears again.

He wiped her tears and laughed with her. Her show of emotion never bothered him. In fact, it was one of the things he liked about her. He never had to play the guessing game that Andy and Mark often had to play with their girls. Connor always knew exactly what Daisy was thinking and feeling. No sleepless nights trying to figure out what was going on with Daisy, no-sir-ee. It was always right there on her face, in her eyes, plain as Day. He ran his hand through her hair “I am… so…. in love with you.” He whispered. Staring into her eyes, he kissed her tear-streaked cheeks, then her mouth. He held her until she regained control of herself, un-bothered by her show of emotion.

She finally took a deep breath and relaxed. Her heart stopped its wild pounding and she laid her head on his shoulder peacefully. “I’m Ok now…. I think.”

He held the little box back out in sight again and she opened it. They gazed at the contents and an uncontrollable grin stretched across Daisy’s face again. She lay her head back down on his shoulder, afraid she might have another outburst. She breathed quietly for a minute longer, then she tried again. She reached in and took Connor’s ring out. He brought the correct hand out for her, he took off the little silver hoop earrings that he had been wearing on his ring finger and moved them to the other hand. Daisy gently slid the promise ring on his finger. Then she reached up and laid her hands on both sides of his face. She looked him directly in his eyes. “I love you Connor Bailey” she touched her lips to his and gave him the softest kiss he’d ever had in his life.

When she was done they touched their foreheads together and looked down at the little box that was between them. Connor took her ring out of the box and held her hand steady. He slid it on her ring finger very carefully, pushing it up into its proper place. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her hand. Then he looked up into her face. “I love you too, Daisy Ray. Please always be mine. Forever be my Daisy girl.” He touched her face gently then pushed his hand back into her hair and pulling her mouth to his. He kissed her with all the youthful strength that he was capable. He whispered his words a second time into her mouth. “Always….. always be my Daisy girl”

They gave in to the moment and kissed there at the birdwatchers station for the longest time. The only sound around was the gulls begging someone to feed them and the ocean pounding its encouragement into the sand. There was no one around, on this cold Christmas morning to interfere with them so they remained lost in their happy embrace, lost in their own private world.

Then a thought entered Connor’s mind, no… not a thought really…. it was more like a memory flashing through his mind, a picture… of him and Daisy at church asking God to enter their private world. The same picture flashed suddenly though Daisy’s mind at the exact same moment. They gazed into each other’s eyes, foreheads touching, mouths holding still, a wordless impression passed between them, a sense of God being really truly present all around them.

They looked up into the bright morning sky.

“The sky is so big and never ending” Daisy whispered in amazement.

The ocean boomed loudly behind them.

“The ocean is so powerful” Connor added, equally amazed.

“God… He’s all around us. Everywhere we go.” Daisy exclaimed.

Then Connor looked all around them and realized Daisy’s words were true.

“God isn’t in our world, we… are in His world.”

“Yea” leaning her head on his shoulder, she smiled softly, “and we are not alone”

“Yea, we are not alone” Connor agreed.

Dear Reader, There is a site on my blogroll called, teamdoctorsblog.com. On this site, I read an article about The foot as a Springing Mechanism.  You can read the article yourself and make your own conclusions about your feet but I felt I should mention the location of the article because I have made reference to it in my story. When I first wrote Daisy and Connor’s World, I was not familiar with the springing theory, so I didn’t put it in. But now that I am familiar with it, I believe it would be something that would interest a person like Connor, so it is now in.

This Christmas day has only just begun, please join me again next week for Chapter 36 Daisy’s Christmas Day, J

Corey’s Exercises

I have a friend on Dailymile who has a great fitness blog. Her name is Corey and her blog site is http://www.thehinzadventures.com. She posted these exercises on her site and I loved them. I have added these exercises to my weekly workout routine. Perhaps, you’d like to do the same. J

5-Minute Workout: Brazilian Butt Lift

Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, arms at sides, toes turned out.Tuck tailbone under and contract glutes. Lower body into a plié squat as low as you can go without allowing knees to creep past toes.

Simultaneously raise arms to shoulder height in front of body, palms down. Hold for 2 seconds, then return to starting position.

After 20 reps, pulse at the bottom for 20 seconds.

2. Touchdown – Minutes 1:00-2:00

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward. Squat down until knees are bent 90 degrees. Squat down until knees are bent 90 degrees.

Step left leg back into a deep reverse lunge, placing right hand along outside of right thigh or touching the floor. Raise left hand in front of face, palm facing out. Return to starting position and repeat, alternating sides.

3. Explosive Lunge – Minutes 2:00-3:00

Lunge forward with left leg until knee is bent 90 degrees, directly over ankle, right knee pointing toward floor. Jump up, pushing off the floor with both feet. Switch legs in midair, landing with right foot forward in a lunge. Continue, alternating sides.

4. Single-Leg Squat with Towel – Minutes 3:00-4:00

Stand with feet together, toes pointed forward, arms at sides with right foot on top of a small folded towel. Shifting weight to left leg, bend left knee 45 to 90 degrees while sliding right leg and towel slowly out to the side as far as is comfortable for a count of 4. Slowly draw right leg back to start for a count of 4 while straightening left leg.
Repeat for 30 seconds; switch sides.

5. Squat with Kick-Back – Minutes 4:00-5:00

Stand with legs shoulder-width apart, arms at sides. Sit back into a squat keeping weight on heels, then lift right leg straight behind you, keeping hips pointing forward while extending arms. Return to start and switch sides.

Corey’s site also has pictures of these exercises. If you’d like to see them please click on thehinzadventure.com site on my blog roll. Click on her ‘old posts’ and you can find them. I believe the post title is ‘Good Housewives’ J

Chapter 34.5 Christmas Eve Service

Connor and Daisy took their place in the family row, right before the worship service began.

Grandma Rose looking down at Daisy’s bare feet. “Oh darl’in……” she mumbled.

“I didn’t have my house key.” Daisy shrugged. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Oh my…. we weren’t thinking, were we” She patted Daisy’s knee sympathetically.

Connor chuckled softly. Daisy poked him in the ribs with her elbow, trying to get him to shut-up but it only encouraged him to laugh louder. “Quit-it, Day” he laughed.

“Shhhhhh……”

“Look…, she’s barefoot….” Connor pointed to a little girl twirling around in the center aisle so her Christmas dress would poof out.

“She’s two years old” Daisy returned dryly.

“Still barefoot…..”

Daisy and Connor watched the tiny, twirling ballerina, and smiled.

Up front, Mark sat on a stool, tuning his guitar, while Susan adjusted the mikes. When she was done, a deacon came forward, made a few brief announcements and opened in prayer.

Once the opening prayer was done, Mark began gracefully strumming his guitar and singing.

Daisy had heard him bum around with his guitar at home or the beach, hundreds of times. But this….., this wasn’t bumming around. This was something special. “You just have to be born with a voice like that” she sighed to herself.

Susan echoed Mark’s words now. Their voices rose and fell with the melody, flawlessly, in a Christmas song about how God sent his son Jesus Christ to the earth to save the lost. Susan raised her eyes and her free hand, towards the sky as if reaching out for someone. Her smile signified that she had found the one she was reaching for.

Everyone in the congregation stood and raised their hands to the sky as well. The room was filled with a beautiful intertwining of voices of every kind. Some voices were high-pitched and delicate, others were joyous and booming, but somehow…, as different as they all were…., they blended together to make a lovely group gift to the Lord.

Mark and Susan led the congregation into a second and then a third song.

Daisy and Connor’s hearts were lifted up high into a place they had never gone before, a place where they could feel God’s kindness and love, a place where you wanted to be known and were free to admit your deepest secrets without fear. It was better than ‘Daisy and Connor’s world’ it was a place where God lived. ‘God inhabits the praises of his people.’ Didn’t Mark say that once? Daisy tried to recall the moment she’d heard him say it. She reached out to hold Connor’s hand and he took it eagerly. He smiled down at her. She could see tears sparkling in corners of his eyes… and she knew… that he felt the same thing she felt.

She whispered her question to him….., “Didn’t Mark say once, that God inhabits the praises of His people?”

“Yea, I think he did. I can feel God in this worship, that’s for sure.” Connor placed his hand on her neck and pulled her a little closer to whisper again “Let’s invite God into our world, into Daisy and Connor’s world.”

“I was just thinking that!” She whispered back excitedly “But how do we do it?”

“Mmm.., I’m not sure. Let’s ask.” They both sat back down in their seats, held hands and Connor asked: “Dear Jesus, we can feel Your presence right now. We wanna always feel it. We’d like to invite You into our private world, to be with us always.”

Daisy added her ‘Amen’ at the end of their request. Then she reached up and hugged Connor around the neck. “Thank you Connor. Thank you.”

“No problem Babe.” He held her there, soaking up her warm hug, truly blessed.

The music began to die down and people were now sitting in their seats either talking or praying or gathering up children and escorting them to the side door where the children’s classes were located.

Vanessa Langley quietly came up behind Daisy and Connor and touched them on the back. “Excuse me, I don’t mean to bother you two but I could use your help tonight if…, you don’t mind.”

“What is it Mrs. Langley?” Connor asked.

“Well, we always have a lot of visitors on Christmas Eve. That means we also have an overflow of visiting children in the toddler room. We don’t have enough hands to hold them all. Do you think you could sit in the toddler room and hold some little people?” she asked hopefully.

Daisy smiled. “I like children Mrs. Langley. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“Me either” Connor added.

“Ok then…., just follow me.” They left for the toddler room together.

Mrs. Langley slowly opened the toddler door, being careful not to knock anyone over as she did so. “Yoo-hoo, anyone back there….” After a good peek around the door, they walked in.

Daisy and Connor were shocked at the high energy the room exuded. They’d never seen so many toddlers in one room before. Ms. Langley had been correct. The church definitely had an ‘overflow’ this Christmas evening. The toddlers moved about like busy little bees. Some played with toys on the floor while others, noisily chased their buddies around the room. Half the room was painted a florescent purple color and the other half was painted florescent green color. The giant words, ‘Let All Creation Praise Him!’ were brightly painted in large letters across the top of each wall. It was an eye-popping vision to behold.

“Some paint job” Connor whispered in Daisy’s ear. “Do you think the walls glow when the lights are out?”

“Probably” she giggled.

There were only two adults in the room. Each one was bouncing a crying child on their hip as they set up the snack table.

“This is Beth and this is Hope.” Mrs. Langley held her hand out to each young lady as she introduced them. Both Beth and Hope looked up and smiled at, the-much-needed, new recruits. Ms. Langley continued…“This is Daisy and Connor, they can be some extra hands for you tonight.”

“Great…, we could really use some help in here.” Beth said as she handed Daisy the crying child from her hip. “If you hold the crying ones then I can move around and help the others with their snacks.”

Hope walked over to Connor and did the same thing. She handed Connor her crying child. “Here ya go” she smiled thankfully then turned around quick-as-a-whip, clapping her hands loudly. “Ok little people, let’s all sit down and have some Christmas cup cakes!”

“YEAH!” All the children, except the two criers, rushed at top speed, to the same chair. Beth and Hope now had free hands to help the little guys get situated in separate chairs.

Daisy sat down in a rocker and began to sing Jesus loves me to the crying child in her arms. Connor smiled. It gave him a warm fuzzy feeling to watch her sing to a small child. But he couldn’t drift off into ‘Daisy watching’ right now. He had his own crying toddler to deal with.

Now, Connor was holding a little boy in brand new red overalls with Rudolf on the front. His mother had obviously gone to a great deal of trouble to dress him up in his Christmas best. But the little guy didn’t care about Rudolf or cupcakes or being in class. He was crying in a most heart wrenching way. “Maaaaa—-meeee, I want my Maaaaa—-meeeee….”

Connor studied the miserable child, wondering what he should do. He saw the blocks all over the floor and decided to try that. He sat down with the crying child in his lap and began building a simple tower.

After a short time the boy wiped his face off on Connor’s nice clean green sweater. Connor cringed at the yucky spot the boy left on his sweater. ‘Man…, this is the sweater that matched Daisy’s new dress….’ But the boy was feeling better and starting to notice the tall tower that was being built in front of him. ‘That’s a good thing, I guess…’  so Connor forgot about his sweater and continued his efforts to cheer the boy up.

The boy bent over and picked up a block. Connor assumed that he was going to put it on the tower. But that wasn’t what he did, instead he swung his arm wildly and knocked the tower over! Connor froze. The boy then stood up and with jubilant laughter stepped on all the pieces. When he was done, he sat back down again in Connor’s frozen lap. “Come on….,” the boy tugged on Connor’s hand. “Make it again” he giggled.

Daisy smiled at Connor’s shocked expression. “Seems like, toddlers learn to tear down first. Maybe later on, he’ll learn the building part. Go ahead, build another.”

Connor shook his head. “I’m sure this kid knows how to stack blocks, Day. I don’t buy all this cry’in stuff, not one bit” He looked down at the child in his lap. “I’m not buy’in it, ya hear me big guy?”

The little boy wiped his nose off on Connor’s nice green sweater again then he straightened up into his biggest big-boy pose.

“That’s just nasty man” Connor mumbled. Then he looked up the ceiling shouting, “Anybody got any tissue?!”

Beth tossed a box across the room. Connor caught it midair. “Thanks” He looked down at the child in his lap. “Now, this here is tissue. God made it for your nose, man” He wiped the boys nose real good then built a new tower. The boy again knocked it over and this time they both laughed.

“Pretty cool, pretty cool” Connor’s inner child emerged. He built fancier and fancier towers for the little Godzilla to stomp on. He found match box cars and added roads and cars to the towers. He built whole towns with as much detail as toddler room toys would allow.

After the snack-table kids mowed through all the cupcakes, they felt they needed to investigate Connor’s Godzilla corner. They demolished Connor’s towns and clapped together with the little red Rudolf guy! “Build it again! Build it again!” They hollered in unison.

As time went on, the children did become a little more interested in the building process. This led Connor to a new idea. “Ok people, let’s switch. You build a city and I will be Godzilla.” All the toddlers agreed without fully comprehending what he meant. They did manage to build something like a town however and Connor stomped all over it, making big, scary, monster noises in the process.

Two of the toddlers became angry and tried to defend the homemade town and another pair stood to the side of the mess, crying. But there were a few who understood and copied Connor. They stomped on the town energetically right along with him.

“They’re all so different, aren’t they” Connor stated in an amazed voice.

Daisy smiled “Yea, funny hu……, build a new one…”

So Connor knelt down again and built six towers in a row and let them knock them over one at a time. The anger and the crying dissolved into laughter once more.

The evening went on, in this way, until mothers returned for pick-up. All the children had fallen in love with Connor and didn’t want to leave Godzilla corner. With teary eyes they reluctantly waved good night to him and went home with their parents.

Once the children were gone, Hope and Beth hugged Daisy and Connor. “We can’t thank you enough. You were both so much help. Thank you for coming. If you like the toddlers you can mention it to Mrs. Langley and she can put you on the Sunday school schedule and you can help out again.” They smiled hopefully.

“Sure, we will mention it to her that we liked the toddler class.” Daisy said as she left with Connor.

Connor put his arm lightly on Daisy’s shoulder as they walked down the hallway.

“Day, that boy in the red, wiped his snotty nose all over my sweater. Does it come out?” He looked at her with a worried expression.

“Of course it comes out, silly. Let’s stop in the kitchen and get a paper towel with some water on it.”

They made a turn and entered the kitchen. Connor leaned against the kitchen sink and lightly rested his hands on her hips as she ran some water over a paper towel and cleaned the spot for him.

“See.., it comes out.”

“Thanks. I didn’t know if that stuff came out or not. It looked like liquid cement to me.”

Daisy’s eyes sparkled at his comment. She tried not to laugh but she couldn’t help it. “Do you think you want to volunteer again for that class? We did tell those girls we would talk to Mrs. Langley. You might end up with more liquid cement on your clothes, you know.”

“Yea, I liked the little Godzilla’s. I will just wear different clothes is all” He smiled. “Are you Ok with the class?”

“Yea…., let’s do it together.”

“How come you didn’t get any mess on your dress?”

“Well…, my child fell asleep when I sang to him.”

“I guess, I would fall asleep if you sang to me too.” Connor returned tenderly.

“I will keep that in mind just in case I need to help you sleep sometime.” Sudden shyness crept over Daisy’s face.

He kissed her lightly on the cheek, whispering “That’d be sweet” in her ear. “Let’s go home”

“Kay”

Hand in hand, they walked out into the parking lot. When they reached the car Daisy suddenly realized something. “Do you know what?”

“What?”

“Not one person noticed my feet but Grandma.”

“That’s right.” Connor said as he helped her in the car. “They probably couldn’t get past your eyes, Daisy girl. You are the prettiest girl around, you know.” He stated proudly as he shut her car door.

(Let the reader understand that Daisy was not unusually beautiful. It was just Connor’s opinion. She was short with brown eyes and too much brown hair that was often a mess after running. To Connor, she was a rare beauty. Her personality was sweet, free spirited, and trustworthy which played heavily into Connor’s personal impression. She could be a baby about things and always needed him for something, but to Connor, that was all part of her sweetness. All these things mixed up together with joint family tragedy, formed inside Connor’s heart, the strong opinion that Daisy was both rare and beautiful. That is how a lover feels about the-love-of-his-life and you can’t really tell him any different.)

Buzz’in with the Babes

I heard a little bee buzz’in one day

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

What’cha buzz’in ‘bout in such a cheerful way?

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

I’m buzz’in ‘bout my Maker, who gave me this cool buzzer

I’m tell’in Him thank’ya for Mak’in me like no other

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

Is that all little bee, that you’ve got to say?

Cause you sure are buzz’in, in a most unstoppable way

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

Now that you mention it, I do have to say

I’m filled to the top with praises this day

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

Little bee, little bee, buzz’in all around me

What praise is filling you, on this particular day?

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

My buzzer will buzz, cause that’s how I’m made

My Maker has made me, to praise Him, in just-such-a-way

Buzz-Buzz, Buzz-Buzz

You go on then and praise Him, cause that’s how you’re made

I know there are others, who buzz, in the same kind-a-way

Psalms 8:2 says it best on this Christmas Eve day:

‘From the lips of children, God has ordained praise…..,

their praise silences the enemy and forbids him (the enemy) to stay’

We’ll all do so well, if we do not delay

and grab the hand of a child and praise HIM forever and a day

Buzz’in with the Babes

Dear Reader, Next is Chapter 35 Promise Rings on a Christmas Morning Run, J

Chapter 34 Connor’s Christmas Eve Day

The Bailey men were just getting their Christmas Eve morning started…….

Connor was in the shower and his Dad was slowly moving around the kitchen, minding his own business, making breakfast when…, the door bell suddenly rang.

“Who in the world….” Davis set his coffee down and went to the front door.

A young man in a business suit stood politely at the door.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“Are you Connor Bailey?”

“No, I’m Davis Bailey. I’m Connor’s father. What can I do for you?”

“I have a summons for a Connor Bailey. Do you know where he is?”

Davis took a step back and yelled in the direction of the hallway. “Connor….!”

“Yea….? I’m in the shower?!”

“Someone’s at the door, get out here!”

Connor came down the hallway dripping wet with a towel around his waist. “Who is it? Can’t they wait?” he grumbled at the living room entrance way.

“No, they can’t. Just sign for this summons and you can go back to your shower.”

Looking annoyed and puzzled, Connor marched to the door, took the summons and signed that he’d received it, “Is that it….” he queried.

“That’s it, thank you” The young man turned and left as quickly as he’d come.

Connor read the contents quickly. “Oh…, I know what this is…., this is about testifying against Mr. Adams. I heard him confess to underage girls in his clubs, remember? That’s what this is…., what a drag! I have to be in court on Christmas day!” He handed the letter to his Dad and stomped off, mumbling un-repeatable names for Mr. Adams as he went.

Davis stood in the living room looking over the summons. “Somebody has got to put this guy away.., might as well be us…., Merry Christmas Clearwater….” He spoke mostly to himself because Connor had left the room. Davis returned to the kitchen, disappointed that things seemed to be coming to a head, right on Christmas day.

After dressing, Connor enters the kitchen looking for OJ. He grabbed the carton from the refrigerator and chugged it down in seconds. Then taking his usual basketball pose…., he tossed it lightly into the trash can. “Yes…., I am such a winner” he cheered in a hushed tone.

Davis looked up from his newspaper. Balancing reading glasses on the end of his nose, he chuckled lightly at his son. “Is that your breakfast? I got eggs on the stove.”

“I’ll eat later. I’m going to Jeremiah’s. Daisy’s gonna call me when she gets home from shopping with Grandma. We’ll meet here and eat with you before church.”

“Sounds like a plan. Joe and I are going bowling with George, Cindy and Peg. They will be eating here tonight too.” Davis tosses Connor the car keys.

“Thanks” and he was out the door faster than his Dad could say, “bye”

“That boy can’t hold still for a split second unless Daisy’s around.” Davis mumbled under his breath as he returned to his paper.

Connor pulled up to Jeremiah’s house and parked at the end of the driveway. He could hear the guys talking loudly over blaring heavy metal music as he walked up the drive into the cluttered garage.

“Hey Connor, good to see ya, man” Jeremiah lifted his head out of his car engine to greet him.

Connor grinned at the friendly greeting. He couldn’t really hear the words because of the outrageously loud music but he could make a pretty good guess at what was being said to him. He knocked knuckles with Jason and Jeremiah. “Hey man, what’s go’in on?”

“You know Ramone, don’t you?” Jason yelled and pointed to some legs under the car. Ramone rolled out from under the car on a skate board.

“No, I haven’t met him..,” Connor slapped his hand in a friendly greeting. “Hey Ramone”

“Maybe you don’t know me…, but I know you….”

“What?” Connor put his hand to his ear.

Ramone spoke up louder. “Maybe you don’t know me…, but I know you. I’m in Daisy’s English class. Our teacher is always asking her to read her stuff out loud. All her poetry is about you, man.”

Jeremiah elbowed Jason and pointed to the boombox on the counter. Jason reluctantly turned down his favorite tunes for his friends.

“Really…, I didn’t know that. So you’re in 10^th grade with Daisy hu. Why don’t you join the cross country team and run with us?” Connor smiled.

“Not me, man. I’m in wrestling and football. That’s enough for me” Ramone shook his head.

“Yea, he’s in wrestling with us, man!” Jason yelled over the still, very, loud music. The guys resumed looking into Jeremiah’s car engine with serious faces as Ramone rolled back underneath.

“What are you looking for?” Connor asked as he peered into the engine with the others.

“Just changing the oil, Ramone got me and Jason the good stuff for Christmas” Jeremiah announced.

“Ok, I think that does it” Ramone rolls back out from under the car. “It’s all drained out. Now you can put the new stuff in, man.”

Jeremiah poured new oil in. Then slammed the hood shut and turned the engine over. He revved the engine for a few seconds and all the guys grinned at the amazingly good sound that his well-tuned hot rod made.

“Sounds good” Jeremiah patted the side of his vehicle affectionately. “We’ll take her out for a spin after midnight, when the roads are empty” He promised his buddies.

“We need some girls to go with us” Jason moaned.

“Susan can barely squeak out ‘hello’ to me since she started hanging out with Mark, so she’s out. And Chrystal…, well…, she isn’t allowed to see me anymore. Her Dad is majorly pissed off at me for bringing her home late the last time. So you’re on your own for finding girls, man.” Jeremiah shook his head for a brief sad moment. Then quick as lightning, he popped out of sadness and  switched gears. “Ok then…., let’s moved on to happier, more reachable targets shall we…” He rubbed his hands together and gave them all a challenging grin. “Next, on our very important holiday agenda is a little friendly weight lifting” He pulled the cover off his Dad’s weight bench.

Jason laid down first. “Come on man…, pile those babies on! I’m gonna kick butts today!”

“Hey, friendly man, remember I said friendly” Jeremiah chastised.

“I’m friendly…, I will, in a very friendly way, kick your butt” Jason waved his arm for the guys to add more weights onto the ends of the bars and he began.

They took turns trying to out-do the other, until early afternoon. By the end of it all, Ramone won hands down. He was, by far, the best, when it came to plain old brute strength.

“I guess, I should have known you’d win, Ramone, you’re a two hundred pound monster man.” Jason sat on the bench, wiping his sweaty face with a towel, unable to match what Ramone lifted.

“I don’t weigh two hundred pounds, man.” Ramone laughed.

“What do ya weigh? It’s got to be close to two hundred.”

“I came in at 140 but the coach said I was over weight so I’ve been trying to lose a few. I think I’m around 130 now…., I’m feel’in pretty good too.” He shook out his arms as though he could do more if the guys were up for it.

But they weren’t. They wagged their heads, dismissing his body language proposal.

Jeremiah switched gears again as he headed up the garage steps that led to the kitchen door.“Anybody want a soda?”

“Water’s good” Connor patted his stomach lightly.

“Oh yea, I forgot to tell you Ramone…, Connor here…., he’s a health freeeeeaaaaak! If you want to lose weight you should stick with him” Jeremiah said over his shoulder as everyone followed him into the kitchen.

“Yea, emphasis on the freeeeeaaaak!” Jason teased with a high pitched voice that made your ears hurt.

“Do you know what soda does to your bones, man? In gym class Coach Peggy soaked chicken bones in soda for a week. It was disgusting. OJ, tea or water are fine for me.” Connor defended his taste buds.

“I got a well behind the house, if ya wanna go super, health-freak natural, man! I also got tea, for normal people. Tea is right here.” Jeremiah put a pitcher of tea on the counter along with some sandwich making things. “You can make a sandwich if ya want one”

Connor poured a glass of tea and sat on a stool by the counter, unbothered by his buddy’s teasing remarks. “So Ramone.., does Daisy talk about me a lot in class?”

All the guys grinned as they threw together sandwiches, hoping to hear something good.

“She doesn’t really talk about you. She just writes about you. She wrote a poem about your ‘ocean grey eyes’ once…..” Ramone started laughing then continued, “….all the girls were love sick for days after that stupid poem, man” The guys laughed and knocked Connor around for a few minutes after that juicy tidbit of news.

“You lucky dog, I wish I had a girlfriend” Jason punched Connor’s shoulder again.

“OW! Quit hitting me, man!” Connor complained.

“I want a nice quiet girl, who can help me with my homework.” Jason declared.

“Bertha Blake, she’ll help you with your homework!” Jeremiah offered with roaring laughter.

“Shut up man. I ain’t going near that girl. She’s scary!” Jason returned.

“I don’t want a quiet girl! I want a wild one! I can wrestle with!” Jeremiah pounded his chest like Tarzan.

All the guys turned on Jeremiah, hollering “Bertha Blake! She’s your girl!”

“No way, man! I want her pretty too, with big blue eyes…., like that Alison girl that follows Gary around!” Jeremiah hollered out while the guys punched him around.

Connor froze when Jeremiah mentioned Alison. “You’re kid’in, right? You better stay away from her. She’s major trouble. Need I remind you, she has a psycho boyfriend.”

“I’m just saying, she has pretty eyes, that’s all” Jeremiah defended his comment.

Connor’s phone buzzed. He dug his phone out of his pocket and sat back down on his stool to answer it.

“Hey Babe, are you home?” he smiled down at the floor as he listened to Daisy talk. “Ok Babe.., I’m coming…, see you in 5.., bye” he hung up and looked back up at his girl-less buddies. “Well…, it’s been great hanging out with you guys but I got to go.”

“Aw man…, it’s not fair…, how does an ugly guy like you get a nice girl like Daisy Ray?” Jason moaned dramatically.

“Maybe it’s his ‘ocean grey eyes’” Ramone teased as Connor tried to leave.

“Shut up!” Connor laughed as he pulled himself away from his buddies. “Leave me alone you bunch of desperado’s. I got to go.” He jogged out to his car, turned his music up to match the vibrating sound coming from Jeremiah’s garage and made his way back home again.

When Connor arrived home, he immediately disappeared down the hallway, hollering as he went, “I’m taking a shower Dad!”

Joe, George, Cindy and Peggy were all in the kitchen with Davis getting dinner ready.

“Ok son…, but hurry up because dinner is almost ready!”

After some time passed the door bell rang and Davis went to answer the door. “Hello there ladies, come on in!” He boomed.

“Merry Christmas” Daisy managed to say as she plunked a heavy case of OJ into his arms. She rubbed her shoulder, mumbling, “Man, that’s heavy”

“Do you need some ice?” Davis gave her a concerned look.

“I’m ok, it’s just that, my stupid bum shoulder doesn’t always want to cooperate” She kept rubbing it as she walked into the house.

“Well thanks for lugging this heavy box up here, that was quite a chore.” Davis gave both Daisy and Rose a peck on the cheek as they passed by him.

“It was kind of you to invite us over. We’ve been out all day and I haven’t had any time to cook before church.” Rose smiled.

Daisy looked around. “Where is Connor?”

“He’s in his room, I think. Go get him. Maybe you can hurry him up because we are almost ready to eat out here” Davis put the case of OJ on the floor behind the kitchen door.

Joe came out of the kitchen to greet his wife. “Hey dar’lin, how’d the shopping go?”

“Took us all day but we did manage to find a dress Daisy was happy with.” Rose shook her head as though it had been more difficult than she was admitting.

“Hey Daisy…, don’t take too long back there! Come to the table and eat with us!” Davis repeated his request in order to hurry the kids up as parents often do.

Joe grabbed Rose’s hand. “Come on in here and help me and George. We’re making a mess with this salad.” He pulled her off to the kitchen.

Peggy and Cindy wandered out of the kitchen across the living room to admire the Bailey Christmas tree.

“Your tree looks beautiful” Cindy complimented.

“Thanks, it was sort of a group effort” he turned on the blue lights to get the full effect. “There you go ladies” Davis smiled at the reflection the lights made across Peggy’s face.

The stove buzzer rang……., he darted back into the kitchen to pull the roast out…….

Daisy tapped on Connor’s door. “Connor…, can I come in?”

“Yea…, come in!”

When she pushed the door open, Connor took hold of her and lifted her off the ground in a big bear hug. “I missed you” he said into her hair. He’d just finished his shower so his hair was wet and he smelled like soap. He was completely dressed for church, wearing black jeans, a white dress shirt and a V neck, forest green, pullover sweater.

“I missed you too. Want to see my new dress? It will match what you are wearing, I think.”

“Sure”

She pulled out a dark green satin dress. It had a square neck line and long sleeves. Black lace lay on top of the green satin. There was a sash that tied in the back as well. “Isn’t it pretty?” Daisy smiled ear to ear as she held it out for him!

“Yea” Connor was looking more at her than the dress but she didn’t mind. He softly ran his finger along the side of her face. “You will look great in it.” He pulled her closer and gave her a kiss. Then he heard his Dad hollering from the living room.

“Connor! Daisy! Get out here! We want to eat!”

Connor tapped his forehead against hers and moaned. Daisy ran her fingers into the back of his hair, aiming for another kiss. He grinned at her eagerness but he knew he couldn’t go along with it so he pulled up a tiny bit. “I wish we had more time but Dad will walk right in here if we don’t get out there real fast.” His eyes flashed into hers and she knew that he was right.

“Ok, ok, ok…,” She whispered frustrated.

“That’s my girl.”

She laid her dress out on his bed and they walked out to the living room for dinner.

“What took you two so long?” Davis queried.

“I was showing him my dress.” Daisy answered as she sat at the table.

“Well my goodness girl! How long does it take to do that?”

“Sorry”

“Leave her alone Dad. She just wanted me to see her dress.”

“Must be quite a dress”

Grandpa Joe jumped in, “Let’s pray and go to town on this great food we have here Davis!” Joe winked at Connor then grinned hungrily at the food before him.

They all held hands and prayed a prayer of thanks for the food and began to eat.

“This is delicious Davis.” Rose praised.

“Thanks”

While they passed the food around the table, Davis asked Joe, “Do you know what came to the door this morning?”

“No…, what?”

“Connor has been summoned to court to testify against Mr. Adams on Christmas day. Can you believe that…, Christmas day?!” Davis stared at Joe, showing his displeasure at the timing of the whole affair.

“Really, what time on Christmas?”

“1 o’clock I think…, wasn’t it 1, Connor?”

“Yea…, will you go with me Dad? Mr. Adams is so super irritating, even in cuffs. I just wanna punch him every time I see him.”

“Sure will” Davis agreed while he ate some more. “I’m interested to hear what else he’s been doing beside bullying teenagers, anyway.”

“I also received a summons to court, and so did Principle Murray.” Peggy announced.

George looked up from his food. “You know that forest property behind Palmer?”

“Yea…., the piece the company has never been able to buy.” Davis looked at George seriously.

“Mr. Adams is supposedly the owner of it.” George passed Davis a suspicious eye.

“Well, isn’t that something.” Joe chuckled.

“Sure is….., that’s one pretty piece of undeveloped land.” George hummed. “I wish it were available.”

“Mr. Adams going to jail doesn’t automatically make his land available, does it?” Connor asked.

“It might, it might not. There are a lot of factors involved that I don’t know…., as yet.” George went back to his food.

“Well, don’t that beat all.” Joe chuckled again.

“One thing at a time, people. Right now, we’re spending part of our Christmas putting this guy behind bars. I’m glad it’s get’in done but personally, I hope it’s the last time my kids have to ever see him.” Davis pointed at Daisy and Connor across the table with his fork. “My children shouldn’t have to deal with criminals.”

“I know my Andy has had about all he can take from those Adams boys.” Cindy quietly said.

“I agree, this man has scared my students and their parents for a very long time. It needs to stop.” Coach Peggy added in.

“Ok everybody, don’t get your dander up.” George smiled. “I’ll wait until the holidays are over with before checking on the property.”

Davis looked at George and wagged his head. “You can check on it if you want, but I’ll just tell you right now, I don’t want anything, that man has had his hands on.”

“Even if the city is the seller?”

Davis let out a gust of air, thinking….., then he gave in…, “City is different…, I guess…”

They ate quietly…..

Then Davis got up and took his plate to the sink. “Connor…, you and Daisy clean up the kitchen before you leave.”

“Sure Dad”

“I’ll only be a minute, Peggy” Davis patted her back quickly then disappeared down the hallway to get changed.

Rose and Joe excused themselves saying, “We’ll head over to our place to get ready for church and meet you there.”

“Ok see you there” George, Cindy and Peggy moved back over to the Christmas tree while Connor and Daisy cleaned the dining table.

Once Davis was ready for church he went to the kitchen and gave Connor a few last words then he was off with Peggy, Cindy and George.

Connor had his shirt sleeves pulled up to his elbows washing the last plate. Daisy laid her head against his back and hugged his waist holding him there with all her affection.

“I think we got everything.” She whispered into his back.

He drained the water from the sink and turned around drying his hands off on a towel. He draped his arms across her shoulders, receiving her love.

“I’m gonna miss you tomorrow.” Daisy said sadly.

“I’ll hang out with you all morning, Ok? And I’m sure, I’ll be back before dinner.” Connor encouraged.

“Can I go with you?”

“No Babe, stay with your family. I won’t be gone long. You don’t want to go to court on Christmas. I will be back as soon as I can Ok?”

“Kay…….” she agreed then looked up with sudden alarm “Oh no!”

“What happened?”

Daisy ran out the front door leaving Connor standing in the kitchen blankly. After a few minutes she returned slowly…, deep in thought.

“What happened?” He was still in the dark.

“I’m locked out of my house. I don’t have my house key. Grandpa and Grandma have left for church.”

“Well.., umm…, your dress is over here. What else do you need?”

She continued to think “Well.., I guess.., I don’t need anything really. But I have no shoes to match my new dress over here. I can’t wear my Asaics.” She held out her foot to show him her sneakers.

He walked over to her and pulled her close to him again, “that’s not so bad. I’ll carry you on my back, barefoot.”

“We will be quite a sight! Me, coming in on your back” she giggled.

“Mmmm.., you could wear my flip-flops?” he grinned at the thought. Then he took on a sly look “Or I could keep you here, all to myself.” He started to kiss her again “I like that idea the best” he mumbled into her neck playfully.

Daisy smiled at his playfulness and put her arms back around his waist, giving him a squeeze.

“Oh, you like that idea too. Great, let’s do it.” Connor teased further.

“You know I would get in trouble if I did that.”

“Hum, I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble. Maybe, you could say it was all, my fault” Connor whispered against her neck.

Daisy smiled at what he was saying but she sort of wanted to go to church. She didn’t want something like shoes to stop her. “I think I will wear your flip-flops.” Daisy decided.

“To bad…,” Connor moaned dramatically. “We could have had so much fun if we’d stayed home alone.” He wandered into the living room and plopped on the couch looking sad.

Daisy laughed at his drama, she knew he was only ‘acting’. She walked off to his room to change, still laughing.

In a few minutes she returned in her new dress.

“WOW!” Connor’s face lit up. “You look great!”

“Thanks.” She looked down at her bare feet and they both grinned.

Connor dug in his closet and found his flip-flops. He brought them out and dropped them on the floor next to her feet. “There you go, Babe. Nobody ever notices shoes anyway.”

“Kay.” She stuck her size 6 feet into his size 11 flip-flops and they walked out of Connor’s home together and headed for church.

Dear Reader, This evening has really only just begun for Daisy and Connor. Come back next week for the rest, in Chapter 34.5 The Christmas Eve Service. It is an important night for them. You don’t want to miss it…..J