Daniels Song

retribution.

Prologue

Hello… my name is Daniel.

To say I was unfeeling.

My answer would be simple… No!

To say I watched many of my kind, slaughtered and murdered, and I didn't continue the fight.

My answer would be… yes!

To say I watched children as they died in my arms.

My answer would be… yes!

To say I am unworthy of love and respect.

My answer would be… yes!

Now something has changed. Now, I was told to guard Hope.

I don't know why?

Hope is an 18-year-old girl… teaching me to see this world through her eyes. To see that there is humanity and love still left in this world.

But… as Hope teaches me what love really is... I will learn the price.   

When an old enemy shows up… and we are torn apart… I pray that somewhere, written in the stars, I might see her one more time.

For Hope… My wish is that she remembers I once told her that life is worth fighting for.   

As for myself… It will be either absolution, or my annihilation. But with a past like mine… I'm not looking too far into my future.

Hello… my name is Daniel.

Devotion

* Love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or cause

Chapter 1 - Daniel’s story

I stood at the large metal doors taking a deep breath, letting a calm, surround me, before I pressed the call button. Pediatric. ICU, can I help you?

Hello, Liz. It’s me, Daniel.

Then I heard the click of the lock on the door, it sounded like thunder, in a place so quiet. As she unlocked the door for me, you could hear a pin drop. I opened the door and walked down the long hall to the nurse’s station. There were the glass doors to the patient’s rooms but most of them were closed and the curtains drawn. The sound of machines echoed off the walls. One thing I’ve learned working here is that you can smell life, fresh with belief.   But death… death you can taste, bittersweet. The building’s marquee declared this Columbia Memorial Hospital. Even though I had passed through its entrance uncountable times, I always referred to it as the Columbia hospital. The word Memorial felt so final to me when this area was full of nothing but children.

I know that white is a wondrous, and pure color, but not in this place. The white floors and walls seemed lifeless, and sterile like the chemical smell of the disinfectant. The only bit of color was a saying in large purple letters on the wall above the desk that read ‘DIVINE THINGS MUST BE LOVED, TO BE KNOWN’.

Hi Daniel. It was Liz greeting me. She was wearing scrubs with bright green frogs and blue dragonflies on them. It was her way of trying to bring some happiness to this place.   Even I had to smile at the contrast. Liz was in her thirties. Tall and slender, with big green eyes, the color of pale emeralds, and an astonishing smile. It was contagious because everyone around her seemed to always be wearing one. Her light brown hair was always up in a clip of some kind, something bright and cheery, which would match her scrubs.

Timmy has been asking for you.

I was running errands again, and I was told not to come back without paper and crayons. I held up the bag from City Art supplies.

I didn’t have to ask how Timmy was doing, I knew. I always knew.

I’ll walk with you to his room, I need to check on his medication. Liz put a bright pink Post-it note next to her wristwatch.

Timmy’s room was at the end of the hall. His door was open with the curtain pulled back. The room was full of all the pictures he had drawn during his stay. Pictures full of so much life and color. They were of different places, places Timmy would make up in his mind. His imagination seemed to be endless. Timmy had stories from living under the sea to dragons. He had stories of what it would be like to live on other planets, even down to the strange colors things would be. I would write the stories on the back of all of his pictures, word for word, as Timmy would tell them to me. Because sometimes Timmy would check, just to make sure. Now, I couldn’t help but think of some of his amazing stories.

Timmy looked so tiny and frail in his hospital bed, which seemed to be five times his size. Timmy was eight, the oldest of three children. He had been put aside like some old clothing outgrown or out of style. His parents were addicted to drugs and were so consumed with them selves that they forgot they had children at all. That’s what drugs do to families. By the time the children were taken out of the house and put into a foster home, Timmy was already very sick. For the past six months this place had been his home. How sad to think of this as a home. And I had been here at Timmy’s side from the beginning, helping as much as I could.

Timmy looked like an angel. His short little blond curls were just beginning to grow back. And those beautiful blue-green eyes, you could see his soul in them, a wise soul. Not the soul of a child. I could tell that Timmy knew what the cancer was doing to his tiny little body. Liz was busy writing down all the information from the machines in Timmy’s room on her pink Post-it note.

Liz loved children. She didn’t have a family of her own, but wanted one. It was hard for her, knowing that most of the children here she could not save. Liz spent half her shift at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and half at the Emergency Room, where sometimes all it took to mend a broken heart, was a Band-Aid. How I wished it would work for all her patients.

You`re late. I heard, as I stood looking into a set of blue-green eyes, the color of the sea in the summer's last light. A light that was slowly fading away along with his life.

He was so weak his voice was just above a whisper.

Errand boy, remember? as I pointed to myself. I heard Liz snicker as she left Timmy’s room. And yes I did get everything you wanted. I told him as I sat in the chair next to his bed. It was quiet for a long while before Timmy spoke.

I am scared Daniel

I know Timmy, but it will be okay, there is nothing to be frightened of. I held his little hand in both of mine. It was so tiny.

Will you remember me? I felt shocked at the idea. I would always remember the children.

Timmy I will never forget you. Children always seemed to have a different way of seeing the world than adults do.

With a little smile on his face he said, I know, I’m just afraid of leaving you alone. Who will take care of you when I’m gone?   You don’t have a mommy or daddy to take care of you.

Don’t worry Timmy, I have a wonderful father.

Is he nice?   His voice almost lost in the quiet.

Yes Timmy, he’s very nice.

Daniel I’m tired and it’s cold. His voice seemed hardly a whisper.

I knew Timmy would sleep with angels soon, and I would be there for him, as long as he needed! Even after all this time the loss of a child was still hard for me to understand.

I noted that Liz had turned off the sound on the machines, so Timmy couldn’t hear it. I wrapped him up in another blanket, being careful of his wires and tubes. Then I held him while I sat in the large rocking chair. As I rocked Timmy, the movement back and forth seemed to help his pain.

Daniel, I love you, his small voice whispered.

And I love you Timmy. How could you not love a child like this?

I could hear Liz, humming to a restless child in the next room. Liz hummed a beautiful lullaby, one her mother had taught her as a child. She sang it to all of the children. Liz said once, that when she sang the lullaby, she felt the presence of her mother watching over her. I found myself rocking Timmy, in rhythm to Liz's lullaby. One verse in Liz’s lullaby, ‘may there always be Angels to watch over you,’ was for all of the children. As I touched Timmy's forehead he seemed a little chilled. I grabbed the blanket off the back of the rocker and wrapped it around him. Timmy looked up at me, with those blue-green eyes, and I knew angels were watching over him. Putting his head against my chest, he slowly closed his eyes. I continued to rock Timmy, holding him close to me.

I remembered the first time I heard Liz singing that song. It was when I first started working here. I hadn't been assigned a child to care for. I did whatever job Liz, or any of the other nurses, needed. Liz was always watching me skeptically. She didn’t readily trust new persons around these vulnerable children. She was a tigress near her cubs. Late that evening, a few of the children were very ill. All the other the nurses were making rounds. Liz asked if I would look in on one of the girls. I went and sat in the chair beside her bed. The rail was up and only a little hand was visible outside the blankets. Her name was Samantha but everybody called her Sam. She didn't thrive like other children her age and after many tests they found that she had a heart defect. She was here in the hospital to get stronger. She was excited that they were going to fix her heart so she could play with the other kids. I had to chuckle to myself, because she had a heart bigger than anyone I knew, she was full of life.

But this night was not being kind to her. The medication she had to take for surgery was making her sick. All I could do at the moment was to sit in a chair and rub the little hand that stick out from the blankets as I hummed to her. Later she got violently sick. Instead of calling for a nurse, I grabbed clean linens out of the closet. I filled a washbasin with warm water and washed her face and shoulder and a bit of her hair as she smiled up at me. I gently rolled her over to one side of the bed and propped a pillow behind her as I removed the soiled linen. In less than twenty minutes, Sam was in clean pajamas and in a clean bed with fresh linens.

I went to change my shirt.   It was soiled and didn’t smell very well.

Don’t go, said a little voice behind me, I don't want to be by myself. I smiled at her and then reached to the linen cabinet one more time, pulling out two pillowcases. I rolled one up and covered it with the second wrapping some surgical tape around it. Taking a dry eraser marker from the sign-in board the nurses used I drew a face on the outer pillowcase. With that I walked over to Samantha's bed and introduced her.

Sam. This is Oscar, the octopus. I tried to say calmly without laughing at myself.

Oscar? You couldn’t find a better name? she said weakly. I remembered the strange names kids gave their stuffed animals and friends, real or imaginary. I had to think fast on my feet.

Oscar’s special. I told her as I handed her the makeshift toy Why are kids always one step ahead of you?

Why is Oscar special?

He was born with a little problem, like you. See, he doesn't have all his legs. As I pointed to four corners of the pillowcase as of they were his legs.

They’re going to fix my heart.

Yes they are.

Are they going to fix Oscar too?

I think you'll find they’ll fix him too. As I smiled at her, she took the little makeshift animal, tucking it underneath her chin, cuddling it, and fell asleep. I would have to remember to add another pillowcase so that when Sam came out of surgery Oscar would have eight legs.

I was digging through my backpack to see if I could find something else to put on, maybe a T-shirt from earlier today.

Elizabeth walked in the room, and handed me what used to be a bright red scrub. Now it was only a threadbare pink one.

"Daniel, I'm sorry for doubting your abilities. What you did for Sam tonight was more than anyone would ask of you. You gave her peace of mind; you showed her you really cared about her.

From that moment on, Elizabeth allowed me to help wherever I could. That night, not only did I gain her trust, I gained a great friend. Since that time we shared many joys of watching a child leaving, getting out of the hospital. When a child didn't, we shared that sorrow together as well. Sometimes it's hard to believe that was five years ago.

Tonight I rocked Timmy as the sky outside turned from blue to deep purple causing the stars to blossom into brightness. I just watched the stars as I rocked Timmy in a slow easy rhythm.

It was two in the morning when Timmy took his last breath. He was finally at peace. Liz came back into the room and looked at us. I was still holding Timmy, rocking him slowly. Liz gently unhooked the monitors from Timmy’s little body. She had a tear in her eye when she spoke.

Daniel, I know there is nothing I can say that will make you feel better, I’m so sorry.

Liz, I know, he’s at peace now and there’s no pain.

Stay as long as you want, Daniel. Liz put her hand on my shoulder. You could hear the sorrow in her voice.

Liz pulled the curtain and door closed as she left the room. As always, I stayed and started my prayer. Our father in heaven… So many children, so many prayers, and no wonder the heavens were filled with songs. I made sure Timmy’s soul, was followed by a prayer. Father…

Most of my assignments were children. The ones no one wanted, the ones that were dying. I laid Timmy back in his bed and walked out the door. Yes, I would always remember him. How could I ever forget such a loving child, who only wanted love in return? I walked up to Liz at the nurse’s desk to tell her thank you.

Daniel, I have a question for you, she said as she stood up I don’t know what you want me to do with Timmy’s things. Since you bought them for him, I didn’t know if you might want them?

I didn’t have a use for them. When I was assigned another child I would just start over. Please find a child on one of the wards who would enjoy them.

And his pictures? Liz asked me.

You can use them to brighten the place up a little. His stories are on the back of them. You can read them to the other children. I was glad Timmy made me write his stories on the back of every picture. My mind drifted from dragons to sea monsters.

Daniel are you sure you’ll be alright?

Yes, and thank you for everything. I appreciate it very much.

I gave Liz a hug, thinking that she needed it more than I did. She needed the comfort. I wished I could have done more. I turned, and walked down the hall to the door. A walk I had done a hundred times, and will do a hundred times more. As I opened the door I heard, We can always use a few more good guys like you. Then the door closed with a final, echoing click. What we really need are a few more angels, were my thoughts.

I needed the drive to the house to be much longer than it was. I needed to think. Did I say the right things to help Timmy through this? I didn’t know. I hoped I made it easer for him. He deserved better, better than what I could do.

I knew I would have some time before my next assignment. The trouble was I’d likely spend it wondering if I could have done anything more.

As I drove up the long drive, I noticed lights. Someone was up. I needed just to get past them and to my room… if I could. But I doubted it. It was hard to keep things like this quiet. I could just sit in my car, but someone would come looking for me, sooner or later. I knew I had better get this over with. It was a nice night, and someone had left the door open. For a minute I thought I could get to my room without notice.

Daniel. Then I thought, ‘maybe not’. It was Rachael’s sweet voice, If you want someone to talk to…

No, I’ll be all right.

Hey, Danny-boy. Thinking, ‘so much for getting to my room now’, I held my hand out in front of me to stop him.

Willy, I don’t have time for this right now. I knew I would have to talk to him at some point, but not now.

Okay, he smiled. He always had a smile on his face. But that’s not how it goes. He put his hand out in front of my face. When you put your hand out like that, you’re supposed to say ‘Talk to the hand’. I just looked at him, most likely with a very dumb look on my face. I had no idea what to say. And how would talking to his hand help me? I just turned and walked down the hall to my room.

Friend

* A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection

Chapter 2 - Hope’s story

Hope… Hope, what are you looking at?

What?

I said, what you are looking at?

I looked around me, coming back to reality. I was standing in the middle of the hall, slowing down the flow of traffic, and starring out one of the skylights.

I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.

And I definitely wasn’t. Was the sky always this blue? The clouds looked like spun white cotton candy. Anna looked at me with that puzzled look that I’d seen so many times before. Anna and I had known each other since we were in the third grade. Anna was tall, standing next to me, all five-foot-nine. She was a blue-eyed blond. We teased her about her blondness a lot, even though Anna was one of the smartest girls I knew. I was delighted she was one of my best friends.

My other dear friend was Toby: Tobias Winters named after his grandfather. He had threatened me when I was five, that if I ever called him Tobias he would make me eat a worm. And I still believed he would. I had known Toby all my life. He lived next door to us with his two sisters. It was Toby and I who had wanted to see the world in our hot air balloon. Okay… it was really just my tree house. We spent hours dreaming of places we would go and the marvels we would see looking down from the sky above.

We were the three musketeers, Toby, Anna, and I, until last summer. That’s when Kayla moved into the neighborhood and we became the four musketeers. It always seemed natural that the four of us had more in common than just our friendship. We all wanted to see the world together. To see the places people sent post cards from. And I wanted to see the great wonders of the world; at least what was left of them. All the places my dad told me stories about. To make those travels come true we all agreed you need a good job… a very good job, that pays good money. You needed a college degree, from a good school. And you needed good grades to get that. So we all enrolled in a program at high school called Stepping-up. We spend a half-day at the high school and evening classes at the college across the river. With our plan, we would graduate in June with a high school diploma in hand and one year of college finished as well. Plan [A] was coming together. All the hard work was paying off.

Hope, after class we were going to stop at the mall, want to go? Anna had that puppy dog look, the one I usually gave my dad.

Sounds like fun, you driving?

Don’t I always? she said with a smirk.

Anna had an old car that was her grandmother’s. It was a big white four-door sedan we called the ‘Boat’. Don’t get me wrong; we loved it. It fit all of our junk and the four of us with ease. To top it off it had a very large trunk for our shopping trips. What more did you want in a car? And like Anna always said, ‘It was free’.

You could tell what the plan of action was when we got to the mall. We stood by the car all facing in different directions.

Anna had a date with the dress shop. Kayla yearned to get to the bookstore. Toby sought out the technology. Yes, Toby was a techno geek. I was always on the hunt for some new music. We all stared at each other, with the, okay, you win look. Like always we would go as a group. I always felt sorry for Toby with girl stuff, but he didn’t seem to care. I guess with two sisters he got used to it.

The first store was Bargain Books for Kayla. She knew what she was looking for, even had a list. Her room at home had so many books it resembled a small bookstore. Books were stacked on shelves and some in piles in the corners like little towers.

We wandered between the aisles of books together. Observing the sign above his head, Toby giggled when he remarked, Young Romance?

Kayla gave him that ‘think about it’ gaze. I spend most of my free time studying, or hanging out with you, I don’t date, and this shaking a book in his face, is as close to a boyfriend as I’m going to get.

I gave Toby that ‘you started it’ look, putting my hand over my mouth and I started giggling.

The next stop was Toby’s hi-tech electronics store where he was in geek heaven. Okay I liked the store too. I liked the iPods and anything else I could listen to my music on.

The music shop was next. This was my domain. We all went to our neutral corners. Our taste in music was as different as the four of us. We even looked like we belonged in each place. Kayla, in her long skirts, wild colored tops, with her perfect cornrows. She blended into the Reggae corner with ease. Her music always seemed upbeat like her. Anna was country all the way. Even down to her pointed toe boots and snug jeans, though she ditched the cowboy hat in the eighth grade. Toby was all rock: concert tees was his statement. I didn’t have to look at him to know that. I could always hear the heavy metal beat from his bedroom since only eight feet distance and one six-foot fence, separated our bedroom windows. You heard everything. For me, I guess, I was new age. I liked all kinds of music. The music just had to make you feel something, happy, sadness, love, anything but a headache. If I wanted that I would just open my bedroom window more often.

Our last stop was a dress shop. Anna needed a fancy dress for a dinner dance she planned to go to with her parents. It wasn’t often we got to play dress-up since we spent most of our time in classes of some kind. Anna was searching for the perfect dress. She wanted to feel beautiful, to look like a Hollywood starlet. Taking the three of us with her was a big mistake, with a capital B. What was she thinking? We followed her in like we were her entourage.

I like the blue one.

Do you like red?

Black goes with everything.

Straps or strapless?

The ‘girls’ would look great in this one.

What girls?

And in unison, Never mind Toby.

We were like an army. They didn’t know what hit them, in and out with a dress in thirty minutes.

Carrying our bags to the car Toby had to ask, Will some one please tell me what all that ‘girls’ stuff meant back there?

It was Kayla who whispered in his ear making Toby turn bright red. She gestured and held her chest, the girls and smiled.

Toby just shook his head, I give up. On the drive home, every now and then, one of us would look at Toby and smile. He would turn red again, so the game was on.

As we pulled up to my house Anna said, Hope, there won’t be any morning classes, so when do you want me to pick you up?

I’m having some Dad time tomorrow… How about, after dinner, say five? We’ll still have plenty of time.

That sounds like a plan to me.

Thanks Anna. Anna was always on good terms with my dad, so it wouldn’t bother her hanging around the house with us.

As I walked up to the front door, the house seemed covered over in shadows. Dad was teaching an evening class tonight but as always he left the front porch light on for me. I turned on the lights and the music as I headed into the kitchen to find something for dinner.

After having something to eat and doing my homework, I decided to watch TV until Dad came home. In the background I could hear the rhythmic pounding of drums, over and over. I muted the TV only to discover the noise was coming from my purse. I pulled out my phone and recognized Toby’s face looking back at me. I pushed the ‘Accept’ without another thought.

Well, it’s about time you answered.

Toby, what did you do to my phone?

Hope… can we…. talk?   Toby’s voice seemed so distant; I knew there was something wrong.

Yes, you want to come over?

Tree house in five minutes?

Be there. No other words were needed. I would be there for Toby, because Toby was always there for me.

I remember once when I was ten and Toby was eleven. We were walking in the woods across from our houses. By the time we started for home, it was dark. I was afraid to be in the woods in the dark but Toby kept telling me that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of. Even at that age Toby made me feel protected. That was until we were out in the open, and I saw my house. There were cops everywhere but the worst part was seeing Dad’s face. He was mad… beyond mad.

Where have you been young lady? he stammered.

I didn’t know what to say, but it was Toby who answered for us. We were thinking of running away and joining the circus but we forgot our rubber noses. I had to laugh and so did Dad. I was still in trouble but like always Toby made me feel better. Yes that’s what friends were for.

I grabbed my sweatshirt as I headed out the back door remembering when Toby’s dad and mine built the tree house. I must have been around seven.

The tree house was a special place. It sat in the small grove of pines in the backyard. It took our dads a month to build it, and every year, they would repair or upgrade it. It was a place where dreams and fantasies came true. But as I opened the door and walked in I only felt sadness. In the corner sat Toby with his head down, his arms wrapped around his knees.

Are you okay? I asked as I sat down beside him. Of course he wasn’t okay, I knew that much, just looking at him. But I didn’t know what else to say. What’s wrong Toby?

Just caught a little off guard, I guess. Just unprepared… for some old feelings.

It took me a few minutes to put together what he had just said. I leaned my head against Toby’s shoulder and noticed his eyes were about to tear up.

Toby what happened?

I had everything ready for senior pictures. New T-shirt, jeans, even shoes, everything was ready, until Mom saw what I had picked out.

Your mom likes your style. Toby’s mom always liked the idea of him being an individual.   She always said there was something special about him.

It’s not that, she liked the new T-shirt. She even liked my checkerboard shoes. She was talking about how things had changed from when she was my age. Girls always wore dresses, guys wore suits. He paused, Hope… I wanted to surprise her.

As he spoke I saw the sadness in his eyes.

I’ve always seen the pictures of the two of them, before they met each other. They were dressed up in prom pictures and senior pictures. I wanted to do something special for her. Did you know, when my Dad passed away, she had most of his things packed up in boxes in the attic?

No… I said softly, as I touched his face and he looked back at me. Maybe it’s her way of hanging onto a little part of him.

I wanted to surprise her by dressing up a little. I thought it would look cool to wear a suit jacket, like in one of Dad’s photos. Something special for my Mom, and my grandfather. I went through the boxes, until I found one. It was jet black, with satin lapels, and looked great.

Then why do you look so sad?

It was when I was standing in front of the mirror. For a split second, it was as if my Dad was standing in front of me. I miss him so much. I used to dread the father-son talks. Now there are so many things I wish I could ask him.

As I sat beside Toby with my head on his shoulder there were so many memories of his father still here in the tree house. The benches he built wide enough to sit on or even stretch out our feet as we read books. A funny little table was part of the trap door and the crooked windows.   Our dad’s had spent a lot of their time off building it for us.

I’m sorry Toby, I said quietly.

Don’t be… at least I had fifteen years of memories. I wish you had memories of your mom.

My mom died when I was born and didn’t have any memories of her. Like Toby I had photographs and a few of her things in boxes that Dad thought I might want when I got older. But I couldn’t close my eyes and remember her laugh or smile.

Thanks for listening to me.

With a smile I looked at him, What are best friends for?

Hope you’ve been more than a best friend. You’ve been around for every part of my life, the good and the bad. If it weren’t for you I’d still be laying in bed, with the blinds down, not thinking about tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I have a test.

I wasn’t talking about that. Hope when my dad died, you were there for me. When I wanted to lock myself in my bedroom, you literally dragged me out of it.

Kicking and screaming, the whole way, I added.

Maybe… okay quite a bit. But still you were there determined as usual. Sometimes I don’t know how you do it.

Do what? I wondered.

Be there for everyone. You’ve been like a leader to us. You’re one of the strongest willed person I know.

I am?

You make us feel important, you always do. You got us to dream of what we could be, and one day what we may become.

I did?

I know you can say more than two words at a time.

I know I can. I said sarcastically. Honestly Toby, I never thought of myself that way.

I know and that’s what makes you special.

As I thought about it, I didn’t feel special. Weren’t people always supposed to be like this? I looked around our tree house as I continued to reflect. So many things seem to change, or maybe I was just growing up. I noticed the paint underneath our pictures and posters was starting to peel away from the walls. I remembered a few years ago when Toby and I painted them. We couldn`t decide on a color, so the walls were painted half one color for him, and another for me. I could recall all the adventures we had and all the practical jokes we played on each other. Which reminded me.

Toby, what did you do to my phone?

I customized it. he said with a smile, as he tried not to laugh.

When?

Now you’re only speaking one word at a time.

When?

The other day, you handed me your purse and all your other stuff to hang onto while you talked to one of the teachers. It was vibrating in your purse. It was quite annoying, so I answered it.

You what! shock streaked across my face as I wondered what he could have said.

Don`t worry, it was a salesperson but I did have a little fun.

With a smug smile on his face, I began to feel sorry for the salesperson.

You were taking so long, I got bored. And your ring tone was boring enough. So I decided to change it. A good drum solo is like a heartbeat.

We stayed in the tree house like that joking and laughing at each other until it was so dark that the only light that illuminated the tree house was from the back porch.

So, how is the boyfriend thing going?

Dad!!!

You know the look on your face always makes me laugh.

Great, my ‘deer in the headlights’ look amused him. And there are certain things you don’t talk to your dad about. Even if I did have a boyfriend, I don’t know if I would talk to him about it. But I did trust him. He was always honest with me, but I definitely would get teased about it.

I don’t have time for boys.

Okay, okay, just had to tease you a little. How was your shopping trip yesterday?

Fine. It didn’t come out as lighthearted as I wanted. As I thought of the trip home I couldn’t help but start giggling.

Now what have you girls done?

Dad I didn’t start it. Now I was laughing so hard I was crying. Remembering the look on Toby’s face didn’t help. I could barely get out Toby started it, he was told not to go there.

And the three of you are innocent, I doubt that. I had that ‘who me’ look, and my dad saw right through it like always. You girls better be nice to that boy before you permanently damage him.

Toby was the one who asked the wrong question. He wanted to know what we meant by ‘the girls’ at the dress shop.

You would think, with two older sisters he would’ve already figured this out. I was laughing so hard I barely heard him. Like I said damage, and we were both laughing. It was nice to be able to talk to him about almost everything. I could only guess how hard it was for him to raise me all by himself.

The sound of the doorbell made me jump. I’ll get it, its probably Anna picking me up. Before I could open the door, the bell went off again.

I opened the door and Anna stood there with her arms across her chest. And for your info your cell is turned off, then she turned to my dad, Hi Daddy-Two.

A little surprised it reminded me that I had turned my phone off when I was talking with Toby in the tree house. I guess I forgot to turn it back on.

Hello Anna. Dad was smiling and shook his head.

Hope, I tried to call to see if Toby was ready for class. I swear he is slower than most girls I know, and we get the bad rep.

No, I’m not. Anna jumped and looked shocked. She was caught and she knew it.

And I’m right behind you, smart ass. Toby stood there, book bag in hand. Giggling, I went to get my things when my dad handed me some money.

You’ll need to eat some time, and better feed the rest as he tilted his head toward the door where Anna and Toby waited. It wasn’t until that moment when I realized we had been having such a good time laughing and teasing each other; we forgot to even think about making dinner.

Thanks Dad. As I walked out the door I turned again, Love you, I smiled broadly.

Love you too, was his quick response as always.

We piled into Anna’s car in our usual spots with Kayla riding shotgun and Toby and I in the backseat as we headed off for our night classes at the college.

I found the little community college charming. It was nestled in the hillside surrounded by trees. It reminded me of a miniature Ivy League college, with its bricks and cut stones, and little pathways twisting around the buildings. In the wintertime the trees were a convenient shelter, since it rained most of the time. I could walk from one end of the campus to the other using the trees as my umbrella. They always seemed to smell like Christmas. In the winter evenings, you could look down on the lights of the town as they gave off a light glow. The water of the river beyond would glisten with the reflection of the moonlight. You could often see one moon in the night sky and another image of it rippled on the water.

In the spring like now, the campus setting was just as beautiful. There were rhododendron and azalea