26

NAME: SOPHIE DONNELLY

10 minutes after we started driving, we arrived at Lena's house. I expected this trip to be done soon, but Lena's stay-at-home mom surprisingly insisted on hosting all of us in her house for light refreshments to thank us for dropping off her daughter. We stayed in Lena's house for about 45 minutes before dropping Naomi off at her house. Naomi's mother, who was also grateful to us, hosted us for another 45 minutes, after which we started driving back to our own home. Halfway through the return trip, I remembered that I had something to say to him about a previous topic.

"Thanks for getting the bracelet back to me. The inscription—it was really sweet," I said, showing him my outstretched arm.

"What was that about the bracelet?" he asked blankly as he glanced at it. I was really confused by his reaction to my thank-you, as I could have sworn he didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about.

"Just thank you. The inscription—I never knew you were so sentimental,"

"What in the world are you talking about, Soph?" he asked, pulling over to the side of the road and bringing his car to a stop.

I outstretched my arm again and pointed to the ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE engraving on the bracelet. "Remember the last time you were here? You asked me if I liked this bracelet before you'd have it engraved. I got it in the mail two weeks ago, and I forgot to thank you."

My dad pulled the bracelet off my arm, examined it, and frowned. Believe me, I knew the man was a flake, but how could he forget about the bracelet? He didn't just give it to me—he presented it, took it away, had it engraved, and then brought it to the post office to mail. Anything with that many steps would stick in your mind, wouldn't it? That was when I realized that Dad didn't forget about the engraved bracelet. He never sent it to me in the first place.

My hunch was confirmed just a few seconds later. "I don't understand how you got this, honey. I meant to have your bracelet engraved a month ago, but I got super busy and forgot to actually send it to the engraver. I'm so sorry, but I certainly didn't mail you this bracelet. It must have been your mother."

I thought for a moment and shook my head. "Nope, that's not her style, Dad. She doesn't want me to be miserable, but the one thing she always says about her job is 'I can't let these kids live in a fantasy land.' She's always nagging people to face reality, even me. Especially me, when the subject is you. It makes no sense that she'd go through such an elaborate ruse to trick me into believing that you'd followed through on your promise."

My dad replied, "You're absolutely right about your mom, Soph. But if not her, then who?"

I kept thinking, but just a second later, I had my answer. The radio station we were listening to on low volume started playing a new song- the Beatles singing the chorus of "All You Need Is Love."

I gasped and turned up the volume, and the music filled the car.

At first, my dad was confused. "What are you doing, girl? Now's not the time to listen to music- we need to get off the road and go home."

"Anyone who lived through the sixties will remember this old classic," came the deejay's voice as the song began its slow fade. That was when my dad's eyes widened as he came to the same realization as I had.

Suddenly, there were tears streaming down my cheeks.

"That engraved bangle wasn't from Mother! All You Need Is Love? There was only one person who could have come up with that inscription- Cap!" I sobbed.

My dad sadly nodded his head.

"Cap bought this bracelet and had it engraved just so I wouldn't feel bad about you blowing me off! He got absolutely nothing in return. He wasn't my boyfriend. He couldn't expect so much as a thank-you, since the gift was supposed to be from someone else. He did this for no other reason than to make me happy," I lamented.

My dad put an arm around me and pulled me close, not saying a word as he tried to comfort me.

"And the worst part about this is it may be too late for me to ever thank Cap. He doesn't even have a phone at home. He's gone, sucked back into 1967. His last chance at having a life is shot. And tomorrow's Halloween dance has been canceled. Those dances were the best thing about junior high. The poor boy got hauled off to that fucking freak farm before he even had a chance to party, get wild, actually dance with a girl. And there's nothing any of us can do about it. Unless…"