Chapter 37.5 Maria’s Secret

While Connor gave Daisy driving lessons…..

Maria drove Mark and Susan over to Susan’s house and dropped them off. Then she took Andy to his house. “Andy, I’m gonna run an errand. Can I come back and hang out with you, when I’m done?”

“Sure….” Andy leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, “I’ll be here” and went inside.

Maria made a giant U-turn in the street and headed for the Horse Stables on the outskirts of town. She felt a tinge of guilt for not including Andy in her errand. “Maybe I should tell him” she pondered to herself as she drove along. But this concern fluttered momentarily to the wayside, when she saw the stable entrance.

She hopped out of her car and pushed the giant, squeaky gate open. Looking up into the dark sky, she mumbled,”thank God it quit raining. Hope those clouds don’t decide to bust a gut again”

After driving a half mile down a lane covered with damp, fall leaves, lined with bare trees, she came upon some cars parked against a sturdy white fence. She parked. The fence encircled an open field of galloping horses. Watching them run, stirred such a liberating feeling within her, she had to pause and stare. “Magnificent” she whispered in awe. She dug around in her bag for her camera. Catching the creatures in motion was difficult but after several attempts, she managed to get one shot she liked.

Next, she climbed into the back seat and peeled off her clingy, wet running suit. She put on some dry jeans and her favorite Care Bear T-shirt. Andy had given her the T-shirt. It reminded her of him. She wondered again if she had made a mistake by not including him in her secret venture.

She went to the trunk of her car and pulled out a bag of apples that she had stashed there for this very special occasion and stuffed them into her back pack. She found a discarded jacket in the trunk as well. Then she walked quickly down the lane towards the stables.

Damp leaves squished under her feet. Her wet running shoes echoed the mushy sound. “Gross…..why didn’t I think to bring another pair of shoes”

The nagging feeling that she should have brought Andy, resurfaced. She turned around to glance at her car and estimate the distance. “Half mile to the car,  half mile to the gate, I could be out of here in 5 minutes, if I want.” She comforted herself with this thought, turned back around and resumed walking.

Maria had zero experience with horses or stables. She had no idea how to locate Gary’s horse. She only knew that the name of his horse was, Freedom, she was a red Palomino and Gary missed her.

The stables were huge, with shadowy, hay filled corners and ceilings as high as the sky. The largeness of the strange building gave her a queasy feeling. “Why didn’t I bring Andy.” She grumbled at herself for her stupidity. But she knew why she had not included him. He would have reminded her that she was supposed to stay away from the Adams family. There were restraining orders in place, after all. He would have talked her out of it because this was a dangerous family. She could almost hear him says those exact words in her head. “Now look at me Andy…” she spoke to him as if he were there, “I’m nervous and missing your confidence. I’m a piece of work, aren’t I?” She scolded herself, in his place, as she continued to look around with big, apprehensive eyes.

Every stall was full. She slowly moved forward, looking carefully at each horse. “What does a red Palomino look like? I’ve only seen Gary’s online photos. All these horses look like Palomino horses to me.”

“Hey there…” a stable boy emerged from one of the stalls, shovel in hand. He’d been shoveling manure and looked like he needed an excuse to take a break. His eyes and smile enlarged when he took in the sight of her. He might have thought her pretty had she not been looking so disheveled.

Maria gave him a quick once over, caring very little about his opinion of her appearance. “Well, I would like to visit Freedom, if you don’t mind.”

“Freedom” he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Nobody’s been down to visit her in a while. Where’s Gary?”

“He’s been out of the country. How’s his horse?” Maria’s disheveled look turned into a concerned one.

Picking up on her tone, the boy jumped to reassure her. “Oh she’s fine, she fine, no need to worry. Are you here to take her for a walk?” He didn’t want anyone doubting his abilities as a top-notch stable boy.

“Well… mm…” She had not thought of that “…can I?”

“Sure, sure, I’ll fix her right up for ya.” Maria followed the boy down to a middle stall. He gently pulled a beautiful, glossy, Auburn-red animal out of the stall. “This here’s Freedom”

The well-mannered creature blinked a shiny black eye at Maria while the boy saddled her up.

“Wow….” Maria whispered too softly for anyone but the horse to hear. Freedom’s ear twitched and turned in her direction. Excitement bubbled up in Maria’s heart. “Hey girl, can I ride you?”

“There you go Miss.” The boy smiled politely.

“Mmm….. well….. I’ve never been on a horse before. Can you sort of….you know…. tell me how to get on?”

“You’ll not have a problem with this horse, Miss. Gary’s horse is the sweetest one in the stables. He trained her real nice.” The boy laced his fingers together and held them out, indicating that she should stick her foot there and hop up. She did so and there she was sitting on top of Gary Adams horse. She wondered if she ought to feel guilty for taking such pleasure in her secret activity. “Gary Adams horse” she giggled to herself. She could hardly believe what she was doing. What was she doing?

“Wow, this is great. What do I do next?” She looked down at the stable boy for further instructions.

He shook his head. “City girls” He took the reins and led the horse into the pasture and walked her around.

After they made one loop around the pasture. Maria dug her camera out of her back pack and tossed it down to the boy. “Can you take a picture please?”

“Sure” the boy made several clicking sounds to Freedom which she seemed to understand and the horse came to a halt.

“Umm, don’t take the photo of me up here, take it of the horse. Just get my legs in the photo, not my face. Can you do that?”

The boy gave her a strange look but agreed to her request. “Yea, alright” He took two shots of the horse and Maria’s legs. “There ya go miss” he handed the camera back to her.

“Take me back to the stables, I can’t stay any longer” she quickly blurted out.

“Ain’t much of a walk” he mumbled as he turned the horse around.

Inside the stables the boy helped her down.

Maria looked him over, wondering how much she could say to him. She pulled the bag of apples out of her back pack. “These are for Freedom and umm….. I would appreciate it……. if you didn’t mention to anyone…. that you saw me here. Gary just misses his horse so bad… I thought I’d drop by and see her for a minute. I could get in a lot of trouble…. if…. you know…. Mr. Adams found out I was down here.”

A light went on in the boy’s eyes. “I’ve never met Mr. Adams, myself. But I saw him on the News, they say he jumped bail. My Dad hates him, says he’s the biggest scumbag this side of the equator. So you don’t have to worry about us squeal’in. We take care of  Freedom for Guinevere, not scumbag.”

“Guinevere….” Maria had never heard the name, it confused her.

“Gary’s mom a-course…..geez….” The boy rolled his eyes as though anyone who knew Gary should know who Guinevere was.

“Gary’s mom….. she’s here?”

“No…” the boy laughed “…course not, she’s been gone for years. But that’s who we do business with. So if you hear from’em, tell’em Freedom is A-Okay fine, right here, with us. No need for any worry’in at all. I’m Al, by the way.” he stuck out his hand in a friendly way.

Maria shook his hand but didn’t say her name. “It’s late, I really need to go” and with that, she rushed out. She had to get back to Andy before he started wondering where she was.

On the drive back, she stopped at Family Mart to use the bathroom and get a snack. She caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror and was horrified at her wet-rat appearance. No wonder the stable boy kept looking at her funny. She brushed her disheveled hair, dabbed on a little make-up, bought a sandwich and was off and driving back to Andy’s place again.

“He’s gonna know I’m up to something.” She worried as she raced down the highway. “He always knows….What am I gonna say?” She thought and thought and thought, but still no acceptable answer came to mind. “If I lie, he’ll know that too. Then he’ll call Connor and complain about it. Connor of course, will tell Daisy to talk to me, then all three of’em will be breathing down my neck. I’ll never be able to successfully lie to all three of’em” When she’d finished her sandwich, she stuffed the cellophane wrapper under the seat and turned on the music. Andy’s favorite CD was in the player. “Oh crap” She turned it off quickly. Hearing his music made her feel even worse.

She pulled off the highway and crumbled…….

“Oh God…..what am I gonna do? I wanted to see that horse sooooo bad. I just had to see it. I just haaaaaad to…. can you understand? Can you?….. I wanna tell Gary his horse is okay. Is that so terrible?” she pleaded through her tears, trying to convince God, that what she’d done, had been the right thing to do.”Andy cares about me so much.” She mumbled sadly into her hands. “It’s so hard to look into his eyes and lie. His eyes are so honest, they see right through me. He’ll know if I lie, he’ll be mad if I tell him the truth. I know it, I just know it…” She cried a while longer then wiped her face off and stared sadly out the window at the passing traffic. She thought about her friends. Her mind wandered aimlessly through random memories of them. She loved her friends. Why couldn’t she just tell them the truth?

“You don’t know for sure, how a person will respond…. until you ask them.” Was the thought that slowly crept into her mind and lingered there. It mopped up her tears and gave her a glimmer of hope.

“Yea….. I don’t know for sure, what he’d say ’til I ask him.” She looked up to the sky. “God, do you think… maybe…. he wouldn’t be mad? I mean….I really don’t know….do I….” As this thought took root, curiosity replaced dread in Maria’s mind and hope replaced fear in her heart. She punched Andy’s CD back into her player, letting his tunes remind her of him. Feeling stronger now, she pulled back out onto the highway and aimed for Andy’s house once more.

Maria tapped lightly on Andy’s front door.

“Well look who’s here.” In a friendly manner, Ms. Victor pulled Maria inside the house. “Andy’s been waiting all day for you. He’s in the back yard playing his guitar.”

“Thank you Ms. Victor” Maria smiled as she passed through the house to the kitchen, where the back door was located.

“Would you like some tea, darling? You look a little worn out.” Cindy observed sympathetically.

“Do I? Well….this weather…. maybe I do need some tea, thank you” Maria took a pit stop in the kitchen with Andy’s mom. She chugged three glasses of tea down with no more than a breath in between. “I must have been thirstier than I thought” she smiled. “Thanks” she set the glass in the sink.

Cindy reached up into the cabinet over her head and pulled out a tall plastic bin. “Andy made a new batch of his secret recipe trail mix. He’s got it all measured out in individual baggies…see….” Cindy pulled a baggy full of trail mix from the plastic bin. “Would you like some of this too? He swears that every vitamin needed for a healthy body is in one little baggy but I don’t see how.” Cindy shook her head in disbelief as she held out a bag to Maria.

“Yes please…” Maria took it. She looked down at the baggy in her hand, hiding her misty eyes. Andy would sometimes pass out trail mix during cross-country practice at school. Everyone had heard his boasts about the nutritional value he thought his mix had. Even though he called it a secret recipe, it wasn’t really. All you had to do was eat it, to know what was in it. Being reminded of his generous nature, Maria was now…. completely sure, she was unable to lie to him.

“Are…. you okay darling?” Cindy gave her another concerned look.

“I’m fine…. I’m just missing Andy is all. Can I go outside and see him now?” Maria got a hold of herself and smiled up at Ms. Victor.

“Of course, he’s just out there.” She pointed out the window to the porch area then placed her coffee cup in the sink next to Maria’s glass. “I have to go to work now, anyway. Tell him I’m leaving, would you?”

“Sure” Trail mix in hand, Maria stepped out onto the back porch to see Andy sitting on top of the picnic table, strumming his guitar.

He looked up and smiled as she crossed the porch. “It’s about time Care-Bears. I was miss’in you. What took ya so long? Hey… is that my jacket?”

He sounded so happy to see her, it dissolved the last bit of fear in her heart. She sat on top of the table next to him and playfully bumped her shoulder against his. “Yea, it’s yours, I found it in the trunk of my car. Your mom is leaving for work. Will you play me a song?”

He studied her face for a moment…. taking in her sad tone and tired eyes…..he resumed playing without a word. As he played, she watched the wind blow through the trees of his backyard and the squirrels scamper about in wet leaves, making sure the nuts they’d stashed earlier, were still where they’d left them. There was no adrenalin rush, sitting on Andy’s picnic table. No fearful excitement, like when she sat on top of the forbidden Gary Adams horse. But Andy’s place was a peaceful one, she felt loved next to him. As his melody floated through her system, she opened up and told him about her ‘errand’.

Andy flubbed on a few chords as she spoke but he otherwise remained silent until the end. “Wow…… I’ve never been on a horse.” Andy chuckled as he lay his guitar to the side when she appeared to be done.

Maria replayed the photos on her camera for him.

“That’s sorta dangerous….mess’in around in the Adam’s family stuff…don’t ya think so?” He gave her a concerned look.

She dropped her eyes from his, “Yea….I guess” she admitted.

“Mr. Adams still hasn’t been found yet. Me and you….we’re supposed to be stick’in together. I honestly thought, you were just heading up to the grocery store to get girl stuff. A 30 minute trip, max. It never dawned on me, that I wouldn’t see you again ’til 5.” Andy explained his side of things.

“Oh…. is that what you thought?”

“Yea…, I mean…..girl stuff is the only thing you ditch me for, not that you need too. I think I’m old enough to handle a trip down aisle 6 in the grocery while you pick out tampons. But if you don’t wanna take me, I’m cool, I can wait at home. It’s not likely you’d run into Mr. Adams on aisle 6. That’s what I was thinking, when you said you needed to run an errand.” Andy let out a little chuckle at himself for being so very wrong.

“Yea…. I did sorta give you that impression, on purpose. That’s not very honest….I’m sorry about that.”

“The next time you say you’re making an errand, I’m going to have to think more creatively.” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. “I’m glad you’re okay though” He whispered into her ear. “Would you take me along next time you decide to investigate the wild side?”

She looked up into his eyes, “Andy…..I wanted to take you….I did….really……but I didn’t think you’d go. I thought you’d try to talk me out of it. I really, really, really, wanted to go. I don’t know why exactly. But that is just how I felt. Can you find it in your heart to somehow understand?”

Andy touched her forehead with his and smiled into her pleading eyes. “Well….. this is what you do next time…… Tell me you wanna take me for a drive….. see….. you know I’d never, in a million years, say no, to that. Then you drive to…. where ever it is…… that you feel so desperate about going.” He dropped his lips to her lips and kissed her softly. “Then… you won’t be alone… when you get there.”

“Wow….. you didn’t respond at all like I’d imagined you would. I was thinking you might throw a fit”

“Maria….” Wishing she understood him better, he tried to explain his past angry outbursts. “I know when there’s something wrong, even if I don’t know exactly what it is. When you tell me straight, I’m cool. But… when you lie and tell me there’s nothing going on….. that’s when I get pissed off.”

Maria lay her head back down on his shoulder. “That makes sense, I guess.” She sighed contentedly in his arms, relieved that she had managed to tell him the whole truth. She wondered now, why it had been such a hard thing to do. “I should quit ‘assuming’ that I know how Andy’s gonna respond.” Maria filed this experience away in her heart, with the intention of never forgetting it. Then her stomach made a sudden, really loud gurgling noise, bringing the conversation to a sudden halt. “Oh God, I’m so-so sorry”

He smiled, amused at her embarrassment over the unruly but otherwise completely normal sound. He didn’t know why Maria was such a tightly wound girl but he loved helping her unwind. “You sound hungry…come on…..” He picked up his guitar and gave her a loving tug towards the kitchen door. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

“You hate cook’in.”

“I hate cook’in but I love you…. now come on…” He gave her another tug.

“No, let’s go out…..I’ll take you for a drive….” She playfully teased.

He turned around and looked her in the eye, attempting to read what he saw there. “O……..K…….” he said slowly. “Should I bring my B-B gun?”

“No….” she giggled at his stunned look. “Let’s just go to the Shop-Smart Deli and get a sub. Do you think Daisy and Connor are still there?”

“No way, they’re long gone. They had to be at Palmer by 3 to help get the place ready for New Years.” Andy looked at his watch. “It’s after 5, time to get my growl’in Care-Bear some dinner.”

When Andy and Maria entered the Shop-Smart parking lot, they immediately saw the long, black, zig-zag, tire tread marks on the pavement.

“Hell yes!” Andy hollered. “What’cha wanna bet, Dumbo did those!” He popped out his cell phone and pushed Connor’s name.

Maria pulled into a parking spot near the marks. She was laughing right along with Andy but she still urged him to be careful what he said. “Daisy gets her feelings hurt super easy.”

“Connor! I’m here at Shop-Smart with Maria! Please tell me these terrific tread marks are Dumbo’s!” he roared excitedly into the phone as he heard the news. “I knew it! I knew it! That’s great man!…..what do ya mean don’t make fun of her! These are beauties! Longest set I’ve ever seen! They go the full length of the store man!”

Maria hugged the steering wheel, bottling up her laughter so Connor couldn’t hear her through the phone.

Andy hung up and hollered excitedly. “Come on, let’s get some spray paint Care-Bears!”

“Spray paint…..” she questioned as they got out of the car “..for what?”

Maria followed Andy into the store. They bought white spray paint and returned to Daisy’s tread marks.

Andy, with great love and tender care, wrote:

DUMBO WAS HERE! SHE’S HERE A LOT SO WATCH OUT! 

 Dear Reader, For now, we’re leaving Maria’s Secret and going back to Connor and Daisy in, Chapter 38 The Work Place. They’re cleaning up for the big Palmer New Years Eve party bash, remember? Have a great week and watch out for Daisy on the road. J

Track run….

I have posted about running at my favorite track before. But I wanted to do it again. Because….. well….I just really like it out there…….

I run for many reasons, one of which, is to just get away from it all. I don’t like stress. I also don’t like stressing others. running burns excess frustration, that I might otherwise dump on some poor soul, wandering by, who hasn’t a clue. (that’s not very nice, is it )

On good days, I like to run around the neighborhood and other more scenic places. But these places have challenges that on my stressed out day, I prefer avoiding. Things like inclines, traffic lights, people, dogs, cars, broken up sidewalks, hot sun, are all things that on normal days don’t bother me….but…. if I’m already stressed out….they just stress me more. Except for rain, I like running in the rain when I’m upset. Strange hu, anyway…..

That’s where the track comes into play.

I can run under the shade of trees all the way around this dirt baseball diamond.

There is this cool little connecting place, under the trees on the other side of the above track, where I can hook up to the parking lot. I also run around 2 parking lots.

I didn’t take a photo of the 2 parking lots but they are over there. Once I make it around the parking lots, I hit the second dirt baseball diamond that you see out there. Once I go around that, then I head up this little grassy place to the red track. can you see the red turf under my feet? That is a third baseball diamond that has a red turf track around it.

I go around this red track. It will lead back to the first dirt baseball diamond pictured up top. This is a peaceful place surrounded by shady trees. I find it easy to lay my worries down here. 2 dirt tracks, 2 parking lots, 1 red turf track= altogether equal 1 mile.

Tiny things give me hope.

A friend sent me an email this morning that had a saying by Albert Einstein at the bottom. I liked it very much. It went like this:

“There are two ways to live your life. One way, is to live as though nothing is a miracle. Another way is to live as though everything is a miracle.”

I ran 5 miles at the tracks today, by the way. Might have been 6 but I’m going to say 5 because I’m not 100% sure. I daydream and sometimes and forget to count. That’s sort of the down side of lap running. My running time was one hour.

I hope you have a week full of miracles, Julia

Chapter 37 Running and Driving

“Zzzzzzzzzzz………”

“Wake up boy!” Davis slapped Connor’s feet, to make a spot for himself on the side of his son’s bed and sat down.

“What……. am I supposed to be somewhere?” Connor murmured in a groggy tone.

“Not yet…. ” Davis bent over to lace up his steel toed work boots. “But later today you and Daisy need to come to work…. so wake up.”

“Da-a-a-a-a-d….. ” He moaned. “It’s still  the holidays. I don’t go back to school yet.”

“School holiday yes, work holiday no. Palmer has got it’s annual New Year’s Eve party come’in up. There’s a lot of clean’in to do. You two need to be at work at 3 o’clock sharp, got it?”

“Yea…… alright…. I got it.” He pulled his pillow up over his head to muffle more moaning as his father left for work. Connor wanted to go running with the gang in the afternoon. Everybody was going. Him having to be at Palmer by 3, really threw a wrench into his plans.

“Maybe the gang would move the time up and run in the morning instead of the afternoon.” He wondered to himself. “I’ll have to call’em and find out.” He got out of bed and shook his sleepy legs. He twisted to the left and then the right giving his back a good crack “aaa” Then after a few more stretches to get the blood flowing, he started making phone calls to his friends.

It turned out, that everyone could make the switch. So, at 8 am Connor was knocking on Daisy’s front door. “Hey Day, let’s go girl”

Daisy said good-bye to her Grandparents and they left for the Boardwalk.

At the Boardwalk, Mark held hands with Susan as she chattered on-and-on about something that had happened to her over the holidays. Andy leaned against the platform railing with one arm loosely across Maria’s shoulders. Grace was to their left, sitting on top of the railing, while Willie leaned up against her, completely satisfied with his comfortable position. Everyone was laughing as Susan told her tale.

The teens were in high holiday spirits but the mood of the boardwalk was very different.

Shops were closed for New Years. Except for the Maxwell bunch, the place was vacant. The sky was brooding and heavy with clouds. The water was a dark gloomy grey backdrop behind the chatty circle of friendly kids.

Connor knocked knuckles with Andy, Willie and Mark. “How’s it going, man?”

Andy looked up at the sky. “It’s probably good that we moved our running time up because it looks like it’s gonna storm big time. There’s gonna be no chance to run later on.”

Everyone looked up at the dreary sky and shook their heads in agreement.

Mark punched Connor in the arm. “I heard you got your Dad’s car for Christmas! Man! That’s great! How’d ya talk him into that one?”

“I never tried to talk him into it. I think he just got tired of have’in George drive him to meet Peggy, when I had the Firebird. He’s ditch’in George. That’s what I think.”

Everybody eyed their companion and grinned with understanding.

“When’s the big day for the happy couple anyway?” Andy asked.

“June 30^th” Daisy answered dreamily, then added “Peggy wants all of us girls to be in the wedding as bride’s maids and she wants you guys to be the ushers. George will be the best man, of course.”

“I like George. He’s a nice guy. He’s been hang’in around my Mom a lot. He had dinner with us and Maria on Christmas.” Andy shared.

“He’s pretty cool” Connor agreed.

“Mom has had too many bad boyfriends. I wish she could settle down with somebody who would be nice to her, like George.” Andy confessed.

Everyone agreed, that it was about time a nice guy came into Cindy Victor’s life.

“I think, George would be absolutely perfect.” giggled Daisy.

Thunder boomed loudly from a distant place and everybody jumped with excitement at the sudden, untamed sound.

“We better get started.” Mark suggested.

“Yea and don’t stop at the end. Let’s loop around and come back down. Maybe we can miss the down pour.” Andy instructed.

Due to the weather they skipped stretching out. They took formation quickly, guys on the left and girls on the right and were off.

After a short warm up distance of about a half mile or so, Andy pulled out from the group hollering, “let’s take it up a few notches! I don’t like getting wet!”

Everyone picked up their pace in unison. A flash back memory of Grandpa Joe’s military photos popped into Daisy’s mind. She always  had thoughts of Grandpa’s military days when her friends ran in perfect sync with each other.

They lifted sober faces, focusing straight ahead now. There was a light misty type drizzle that accelerated into a light shower. The rain gave them an additional reason to run faster. When they hit the end of the boardwalk they circled the center bench and ran straight back the way they came.

“Pick it up guys!” Andy yelled.

The simple shower turned into a drenching down pour.

“We all want to beat the rain but the rain is faster” Connor thought to himself. Nature always seemed to speak to him and give him ideas about God. It was speaking to him now. “You are fast Connor… but I am faster…..race Me. Pull out of formation and race Me.” Connor pondered the words that he thought he was hearing…..then grinned “Was God wanting to actually race with him? Wow, how cool!” He continued to listen……..

Thunder boomed suddenly like the shock of a gun in a race and Connor automatically took off at top speed. He pulled out of formation and passed Andy without even noticing him. He was now racing with someone else!

Connor’s sudden burst of speed, exhilarated Andy and the rest of the gang! They all copied him and pushed to do their best! They stretched, pushed, and pressed to catch him! For the first time ever, Andy could not catch Connor!

They were elated when they finally hit the original starting spot! Running in circles with their hands on their hips, breathing deeply, they slowed down. Turning their faces up into the pouring rain, they laughed at their soaking state.

Connor spread his arms out wide. “God likes to run with us!” He yelled with all his youthful strength!

Everyone listened to Connor’s praise as they stared up in awe at the dark, pouring sky.

Andy slapped him on the back. “That was fantastic! How did you do that?”

Connor’s shining wet face turned in Andy’s direction, noticing him for the first time since the booming crack of thunder told him to go. “I think I heard God say, “Race Me”, so I did!” Uncontrolable laughter burst forth from Connor and he shouted some more. “It was great!” He yelled out to God and all the world around him!

The rest of the group ran around playfully stomping in puddles and chasing each other energetically.

Connor grabbed Daisy around the waist and spun her in circles. They laughed together enjoying the rain until they were out of breath. When he put her down he gave her a traditional victory kiss. (No need for the water bottle tradition since she was already sopping wet.) Connor then stood still…… just holding her in the rain. He could feel her steady heart beat against his chest. Her heart had a calming effect on him. Finally…… he exhaled and relaxed. He turned to his friends, “Well, you guys, it’s been great but we have to go. Daisy has driving lessons and then we have to go to work.” He knocked knuckles with each of his wet friends and they all sloshed through the rain to the cars.

“Hey Connor, since you have this great car now…….. can you give us a ride to Grace’s house?” Willie grinned hopefully. “We don’t really fit in Maria’s car.”

“Sure, get in.”

Grace and Willie got in Connor’s car. Andy, Mark and Susan got in Maria’s car. Connor dropped Willie and Grace off at Grace’s house. Then he returned to his apartment building with dripping wet Daisy at his side.

“Give me a call when you’re dressed. We’ll go to Shop-Smart and eat in the Deli then drive around the parking lot for a little while before work.” Connor kissed the side of Daisy’s head as they parted in the apartment hallway.

“Kay”

Daisy and Connor made their way through the holiday shoppers of Shop-Smart, to the back of the store where the Deli was located. The line was l-o-n-g and the place was crowded but after some time, they managed to order a large sub-sandwich and find a booth.

Connor smiled and stuck out his hand. “Let’s pray Babe”

She took his hand and bowed her head.

“Dear Lord Thank you for this food and this time together. Thank you for your peace and your strength. We ask that you help the police catch Mr. Adams soon, Amen.” He passed Daisy her half of the sub-sandwich then took a giant bite of his half. “Mm…good….I was starving….”

Daisy just held her sandwich with a studied look on her face. “Connor…….”

“Hum?” He looked up with chipmunk cheeks full of sandwich.

“God spoke to me too….. while we were running….” She hesitated to continue.

“What’d He say?” Connor stopped eating and stared at her curiously.

“He told me not to be afraid……why would He say that? I mean….. I’m not afraid. So….. why would he bother to tell me, not to be?” She fumbled with her sandwich, unable to decide which end to bite.

“I don’t know…..” he took a swig of his tea. “maybe…. there’s something come’in, you don’t know about.”

Daisy’s eyes enlarged. “You think…. something scary is gonna happen?”

Connor watched Daisy’s expression move from puzzled to alarmed. “Now….you see that….” he pointed his finger at her. “You see how easy you changed your emotion? I just said m-a-y-b-e….. something was gonna happen in the f-u-t-u-r-e…. and you’re all ready to have a panic attack. How should I know what’s gonna happen…..” He shrugged his shoulders. “But no matter what happens, God told you, don’t be afraid.” He went back to his sandwich.

Daisy’s expression moved from alarm back to puzzled again. “Hum…..” She finally took a bite of her sandwich and chewed slowly. After a while she spoke again. “He told you….. you’re strong….”

“Well actually, He said “I’m fast but He’s faster….Race Me” Connor pushed up his sleeves and proudly displayed his muscles. “Look at those bad-boys!” He slapped his biceps. “I’m fast and I’m strong!” At that, Daisy giggled with all her heart. Her outburst gave Connor a huge amount of pleasure. He couldn’t help but laugh too.

When they finished eating they walked back out to the parking lot and Connor tossed her the keys. “Don’t kill me Babe, I still got a lot of living to do.” He laughed at his own little joke.

Daisy rolled her eyes as she got in the car.

The Firebird was a standard vehicle but it had a stick shift between the bucket seats that you used to put it into park or drive or reverse. Connor explained this, and a few other driving tips to Daisy, while she started the engine.

She carefully pulled out of the parking spot and drove around the perimeter of the lot. As her confidence began to build so did her speed.

Her mounting speed made Connor a little nervous. “Speed bumps, speed bumps, speed bumps coming!” His voice got louder with every word!

Ka-boom!

“Crap, Daisy!”

Daisy ran over some speed bumps going way to fast. After a brief air-born moment…. the car returned to earth with a gigantic bang. The banging car scared Daisy even more than Connor’s hysterical yelling did. She floored the brakes which caused the car to slide sideways and skid noisily to a halt, leaving a rather long line of black tire tread marks on the pavement.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God…..” Daisy chanted, nearly in tears.

“It’ll be ok Babe, everybody does that once.” He assured her as he tried to catch his breath. “But uuu…. you have to understand….. there is a reason for speed bumps. Whenever you see speed bumps coming, you need to slow down. Ok Babe?”

“Ok, I’m sorry. Should I stop now?” She asked meekly.

“No, no, you can keep going…. but just watch out for the speed bumps.” Connor leaned back in his seat and tightened his seat belt.

Daisy drove around the perimeter again, at a snail’s pace this time.

“That’s much better. Why don’t you go down that back road over there” He pointed to a road shooting out the back.

She drove slowly through the small quiet residential area behind the store without incident.

Connor looked at his watch. “You’re doing great. Now go back to the parking lot.”

She did so perfectly.

“You’re not too bad.” He smiled and relaxed a little more. “I think you could drive to work. Why don’t you try”

Daisy left the parking lot again. She went down the street to the Palmer Company which was just a few blocks away.

When she finally got the car parked, exactly the way she wanted, in the middle of the white lines, she looked over at Connor quizzically. “Do you think I could pass a driving test?”

“You did great but uuu…. just for confidence sake, you should practice a little bit more. Plus you need to learn some of the laws. I’ll have to get you a book for that. Maybe tomorrow ok?”

“Kay” She played with the steering wheel and pushed some buttons on the dash. “What do these do?”

Connor laughed at her playfulness while he un-pushed everything she pushed. “This one pops the trunk, this one is the gas tank cover, this one pops the hood….” It suddenly dawned on Connor, that there might be more to sharing a vehicle than he had originally thought. “Let’s get inside. Dad’s gonna be look’in for us. He says there is a lot of cleaning to do.”

They hopped out of the car. Connor pushed the hood of the car shut then went to the back and shut the trunk, on the way inside the Palmer office.

Dear Reader, Chapter 37.5 Maria’s Secret is coming up next week. See you then, J

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.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

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.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

“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