p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" "Good afternoon, Mr. Guyer." Mandie smiled as she walked into the dining room with her friends / "Hello children, how has your morning been?" He said, looking up from a letter he was reading. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, uncharacteristicaly, "Listen, I am very sorry but, I'll have to go later this afternoon. Federal mission." br / "Ah." Jonathan nodded, and Mandie could tell the letters they had just found were filling his mind, "Well it's fine Dad, I mean, I'm used to it." he smiled, taking food that the maid / "My boy, that's just the problem. I wish you weren't." Mr. Guyer / The table was silent for a few minutes, before Celia / "What's wrong?" Mandie / "Nothing, I was just thinking about what this room would look like with one hundred people dining in it." Celia stared dreamily off beyond the folding / "Whatever made you think of that?" Jonathan / "I'm not quite sure, I was just thinking." Celia chuckledbr / "Well, perhaps while you are here, we may host a party." Mr. Guyer / "Really? That'd be incredible!" Mandie took a bite of / "Dad," Jonathan began, "When did you first meet Celia's mother?"br / "Jane? Oh, it was...several years ago."br / "Before Celia's father passed away?"br / "No…it was before Celia was born. Before emMiss Hamilton/em was emMiss Hamilton./em She was Miss emstrongBancroft/strong/em." Mr. Guyer said, reminiscing the / "How interesting." Celia looked sharply at / "Yes, but when did you meet her? Where?" Jonathan / "Oh…about fifteen years ago? We met at a restaurant. I was working as waiter, she a guest. She was staying at the hotel nearby. I asked her if I could show her the city, and she obliged. We had a wonderful time." Mr. Guyer / "Fifteen?" Celia asked, "But she married my father a year before I was born…" br / "Yes, my dear. She was already engaged. She was in school in New York. She never told me she was engaged."br / "Oh." Celia all of a sudden took great interest in her / "Did you ever have a photograph taken with her?" Jonathan asked, stepping in deeper / "Jonathan, what is with these questions? It's not the normal luncheon conversation. What does it matter?" Mr. Guyer stood up and left to / "I think you made him angry." Mandie pointed / "Nah, my Dad never gets angry, just…annoyed. Which I don't understand what could have made him annoyed." Jonathan / Mrs. Cook entered the room, "Now you youngens, I made some chocolate cake, but since your father is a leaving this evening Master Jonathan, I can let ya'll have it now, if you wish."br / "Yes, Mrs. Cook. That would be lovely." Jonathan flashed a smile at the woman and she left the / Celia twirled one of her curls, "I think I should write to my mother and make sure she's coming. And when she's coming. Maybe I'll have cake later?"br / "Sure Celia, you could write the letter in the parlor if you want…?" Jonathan / "No, I'll write it in my room. Thank you though. I might take a rest too. I was up in the night." Celia / Mandie got to her feet, "Celia, do you want me to join you?"br / "No Mandie, you don't have too. If you want to though, I wouldn't care. As I said, I might take a nap."br / "Well, then, I might stay around here with Jonathan." Mandie smiled at her / "Okay then, I'll see ya'll later." Celia left to go to her room./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" Jonathan and Mandie sat on the garden swing eating their / "Mrs. Cook is makes the most fabulous cake." Mandie commented, daintily wiping her mouth with a / "She sure does." Jonathan scarfed down a large piece, then cleaned the icing off his / "I wonder why Celia suddenly wanted to go to our room." Mandie thought aloud, "That's not like her."br / "Maybe she's just tired." Jonathan shrugged, "I wonder why she was awakened in the night though."br / "Probably just being in a strange bed." Mandie replied, "I slept fine though."br / "I'm glad you girls are here, Mandie." Jonathan said, taking on a serious tone, looking her in the / She suddenly felt shy, "I'm glad to be here, Jonathan." She studied her / Jonathan rocked the garden swing gently, he seemed to serious, which was never like him. He was usual all mischievous and grinning. br / "It's lovely here in the spring. The winter was chilly." Mandie stammered, not knowing what to / "Yes. The flowers are very beautiful in full bloom. Especially the roses." Jonathan said, pointing to a rose bush in the garden that was starting to / Mandie smiled, "Roses are my favorite flowers." br / Jonathan grinned and plucked one, he brought it back to her and handed it to her, "For you then."br / She blushed, "Thank you, kind sir." They sat on the swing in silence for a few / "Mandie…you've got chocolate icing on your face." Jonathan smirked, breaking the / "I…I do?" She blushed, hastily trying to wipe it / "Here…" Jonathan took her hand, and dabbed the icing off at a close proximity. It made Mandie shift in her seat, feeling more nerves than / Realizing their closeness himself, Jonathan's hand froze, and his gaze dropped to her lips. br / "Jona-"br / Impulsively, so very like him, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers lightly, then stood and stumbled inside. Mandie sat in shock for a few moments, trying to catch up with what had just happened. She also went inside, avoiding any eye contact with anyone, she walked swiftly to her room, where Celia sat on her bed, reading a / "Mandie, what's going on?" Celia asked, putting the book / Mandie closed to door and jumped on the bed next to Celia, "Do I have icing on my face?" She asked, still holding a / "No. Why? What's up?" Celia asked, startled by her friend's sudden / "I don't even know." Mandie lay on her back, staring at the ceiling for several / "Mandie, what's going on? What were you and Jonathan doing?" Celia leaned over to look her best friend in the / "He just sort of... He just kissed me, Celia."br / "He what?"br / "He kissed me."br / "How? Wait, when? Why?" Celia excitedly hopped on the / "Just now. We were out in the garden. You know, on the swing? Anyways, we sat talking about different things…he told me he was glad we were here. And I was said, I'm glad we are here too and then we were silent for a moment. Then he gave me a rose, because I said they were my favorite flowers and then we were quiet again. Then he said I had icing on my face, and he was about to help me wipe it off, but instead…he kissed me."br / "Where?" Celia / "On…the lips."br / Celia squealed with delight, "I can't believe it, Mandie! That's so exciting!"br / Mandie smiled, "I suppose it is."br / Celia clapped her hands, "Oh Mandie, you are so lucky. If I kissed a boy before I was married to him, my mother would kill me on the spot! Maybe I should leave you two alone more often." br / "My mother would kill me if she found out. And she's not. I don't think I'll tell her, and you won't tell anyone either right?" Mandie sat up and looked her friend in the / "Of course not. It'll be you and I and Jonathan's little secret. Why did he kiss you? He must like you." Celia began to / "I guess he does. Oh Celia, what do I do now?" Mandie asked, "How do I act around him? I mean, he's been sort of like that before, but never that much."br / "Just act normal." Celia shrugged, then suddenly grinned, "Are you going to tell Joe?"br / Mandie's face turned red, "Oh dear, Celia…I can't. He'll never talk to me again. You know how he is. Things just got super complicated. I can't tell Joe, and he's my closest friend. No offense to you, you're my closest girlfriend." Mandie smiled quickly at / "Yes, I know." Celia smiled back, "But we are fourteen, old enough to have boyfriends. Your mother got married at sixteen. Two years away."br / "True, but…It's different. Ugh…Jonathan, why'd you have to go and make things complicated?" Mandie / "Where did he go?" Celia asked suddenly, "When are you going to talk to him again?"br / "I don't know, Celia. I just…don't know." Mandie / They sat in silence for a few / "Did you like it though?" Celia asked / "Like what?" Mandie / "The kiss?" br / Mandie blushed and thought for a moment, "I suppose I did, Celia." She thought about the New York city boy's mischievous smile and smiled to herself, "I suppose I did."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" Jonathan and Mandie sat on the garden swing eating their / "Mrs. Cook is makes the most fabulous cake." Mandie commented, daintily wiping her mouth with a / "She sure does." Jonathan scarfed down a large piece, then cleaned the icing off his / "I wonder why Celia suddenly wanted to go to our room." Mandie thought aloud, "That's not like her."br / "Maybe she's just tired." Jonathan shrugged, "I wonder why she was awakened in the night though."br / "Probably just being in a strange bed." Mandie replied, "I slept fine though."br / "I'm glad you girls are here, Mandie." Jonathan said, taking on a serious tone, looking her in the / She suddenly felt shy, "I'm glad to be here, Jonathan." She studied her / Jonathan rocked the garden swing gently, he seemed to serious, which was never like him. He was usual all mischievous and grinning. br / "It's lovely here in the spring. The winter was chilly." Mandie stammered, not knowing what to / "Yes. The flowers are very beautiful in full bloom. Especially the roses." Jonathan said, pointing to a rose bush in the garden that was starting to / Mandie smiled, "Roses are my favorite flowers." br / Jonathan grinned and plucked one, he brought it back to her and handed it to her, "For you then."br / She blushed, "Thank you, kind sir." They sat on the swing in silence for a few / "Mandie…you've got chocolate icing on your face." Jonathan smirked, breaking the / "I…I do?" She blushed, hastily trying to wipe it / "Here…" Jonathan took her hand, and dabbed the icing off at a close proximity. It made Mandie shift in her seat, feeling more nerves than / Realizing their closeness himself, Jonathan's hand froze, and his gaze dropped to her lips. br / "Jona-"br / Impulsively, so very like him, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers lightly, then stood and stumbled inside. Mandie sat in shock for a few moments, trying to catch up with what had just happened. She also went inside, avoiding any eye contact with anyone, she walked swiftly to her room, where Celia sat on her bed, reading a / "Mandie, what's going on?" Celia asked, putting the book / Mandie closed to door and jumped on the bed next to Celia, "Do I have icing on my face?" She asked, still holding a / "No. Why? What's up?" Celia asked, startled by her friend's sudden / "I don't even know." Mandie lay on her back, staring at the ceiling for several / "Mandie, what's going on? What were you and Jonathan doing?" Celia leaned over to look her best friend in the / "He just sort of... He just kissed me, Celia."br / "He what?"br / "He kissed me."br / "How? Wait, when? Why?" Celia excitedly hopped on the / "Just now. We were out in the garden. You know, on the swing? Anyways, we sat talking about different things…he told me he was glad we were here. And I was said, I'm glad we are here too and then we were silent for a moment. Then he gave me a rose, because I said they were my favorite flowers and then we were quiet again. Then he said I had icing on my face, and he was about to help me wipe it off, but instead…he kissed me."br / "Where?" Celia / "On…the lips."br / Celia squealed with delight, "I can't believe it, Mandie! That's so exciting!"br / Mandie smiled, "I suppose it is."br / Celia clapped her hands, "Oh Mandie, you are so lucky. If I kissed a boy before I was married to him, my mother would kill me on the spot! Maybe I should leave you two alone more often." br / "My mother would kill me if she found out. And she's not. I don't think I'll tell her, and you won't tell anyone either right?" Mandie sat up and looked her friend in the / "Of course not. It'll be you and I and Jonathan's little secret. Why did he kiss you? He must like you." Celia began to / "I guess he does. Oh Celia, what do I do now?" Mandie asked, "How do I act around him? I mean, he's been sort of like that before, but never that much."br / "Just act normal." Celia shrugged, then suddenly grinned, "Are you going to tell Joe?"br / Mandie's face turned red, "Oh dear, Celia…I can't. He'll never talk to me again. You know how he is. Things just got super complicated. I can't tell Joe, and he's my closest friend. No offense to you, you're my closest girlfriend." Mandie smiled quickly at / "Yes, I know." Celia smiled back, "But we are fourteen, old enough to have boyfriends. Your mother got married at sixteen. Two years away."br / "True, but…It's different. Ugh…Jonathan, why'd you have to go and make things complicated?" Mandie / "Where did he go?" Celia asked suddenly, "When are you going to talk to him again?"br / "I don't know, Celia. I just…don't know." Mandie / They sat in silence for a few / "Did you like it though?" Celia asked / "Like what?" Mandie / "The kiss?" br / Mandie blushed and thought for a moment, "I suppose I did, Celia." She thought about the New York city boy's mischievous smile and smiled to herself, "I suppose I did."/p
