"It's hopeless, Laurie, I'm telling you we'll never find him!" I sighed and plopped myself down onto a bench.

It was a month after my mother had died and Laurie and I were walking in the park looking for Allen.

"Oh, come on, Ty! You can't give up that easy! I mean we're bound to find him some day," he replied and sat next to me.

"It's been over two months since we started looking and we aren't getting any closer."

"Oh, well, I know you can find him, the way you always talk of him. It seems you knew him pretty well."

"Of course I knew him well! I had to, when my father was drunk and my mother was defenseless. I would have been killed if I hadn't known him."

"You know what, Ty, maybe he moved to another city," he said after a while.

"No! He couldn't of! Then I'd never find him!" I cried and jumped up, right into the path of a man carrying a ton of books, making him drop one.

Then I grabbed the book and ran after the man, for he did not notice that he had dropped it. "Sir! Sir! You dropped your book!"

He turned around and stared at me over the pile of books.

"Ty!"

"Allen!"

He dropped all of his books and embraced me in a huge hug.

Then he asked, with a pat on my shoulder, "How you been Ty-boy?!"

I just laughed and danced around him.

"What? Have we found him?" Laurie asked.

"Oh, yes," I answered, "I almost forgot. Laurie, Allen. Allen, Laurie."

"Theodore Laurence, actually, but they call me Laurie," he said and they shook hands.

"Just one question, Laurie, how does Ty here know you?" Allen replied.

"Allen," I cut in, much serious now, "I ran away."

"Why in the world did you run away, kid?" he asked, much surprised.

"Mother was drunk," I stated simply.

"Mother! Drunk!" he grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Not, anymore, Allen."

"Not anymore?"

"Mother is dead now, she died about a month ago."

"No! Almighty God save us all!" he cried and turned his face toward Heaven.

"I'm staying with the Marches now. Laurie is their neighbor."

"Have you been good to him while I was gone, my friend?" Allen asked of Laurie.

"Allen!" I laughed, "How have you been?"

"Very well actually, would you like to meet my wife?"

"Alright!"

"Help me pick up these books and then we will be off."

"Sara! Baby! Where are you?" Allen called as he led us into a nice looking cottage.

"Allen, is that you?" a soft voice replied.

Then a woman with the prettiest curly brown hair I had ever seen walked into the room.

"Sara, this is my brother, Ty," Allen said and put his arm around her.

"Pleased to finally meet you, Ty," she said.

I smiled and said, sweeping a comical bow, "I'm glad my brother married such a beautiful woman."

She grinned and Allen jumped on me, putting me into a headlock.

"Glad to have you back, Ty-boy, glad to have you back."