Well, here it is! The introduction you've all been waiting for!
Sorry for taking so long! But here it is!
Enjoy and review if you like :)
...
The next morning was Sunday, which meant church.
For the most part, I love going to church. I have a small collection of special church-only sundresses; the sky blue one is my favorite. I like sitting in my favorite spot, which is right between my brothers. I like singing hymns. I like the group prayers and the air of "togetherness" that they bring about. I like getting to see my friends that I know I won't be seeing for the rest of the day, since after church, our religion decrees that we remain housebound on Sundays.
But what I don't like about church is that sometimes IT'S JUST SO BORING. I'm a high-energy kid, and being expected to sit still for an hour ad ten minutes can be kind of a tall order.
But I have a special way of entertaining myself when things get uninteresting: Counting.
It all started one Sunday morning during services when I was five years old. I was sitting between my brothers, feeling particularly antsy that morning. I was beyond bored out of my mind and incessantly shifting my weight from one brother to the other.
Finally, when Jack had had enough of me using his legs as a full-body pillow, he leaned down and whispered to me that I had better sit up straight and either pay attention or quietly entertain myself, or else I was going to be in hot water when we got home. He wasn't threatening me personally; the disapproving looks from my mother were making him nervous.
Disgruntled, I removed myself from Jack's lap and chose the latter since I had no interest whatsoever in the ongoing sermon.
And how does a five-year-old entertain herself when she is expected to remain stationary in one spot for a little over an hour? She counts everything around her.
And that's what I've done for the past six years whenever I get bored. I look around the temple and silently count anything that can be counted.
I count twenty-three pews on the left, and twenty-three on the right. Each pew can seat between twelve and fifteen people, but I only count them all if I'm really bored. I count any relatives I see. I count all thirteen children in the Landerson family. I count all of the windows from top to bottom, and then all of the doors from side to side. I count how many people are wearing glasses. I count how many kids look just as bored as I am. During the summer, I count how many people are using the hymnbooks as fans. During the winter, I count how many people are wearing heavy overcoats.
I count until the bishop calls for the group prayer at the end. Sometimes I get so caught up in my counting that Kevin or Jack has to give me a little nudge to bring me back to the present. Other times I snap right back into the service and bow my head with everyone else, thinking, "Thank you Heavenly Father, it's almost over!"
Then afterwards, my parents stay behind and talk to their friends and my brothers and I escape to the playground area outside to talk to ours. Then we go home, and there we stay for the rest of the day; we watch movies, we play board games, or we just sit and relax. Even though we can't leave the house, Sunday is my favorite day of the week.
But this Sunday was going to be a little bit different…in more ways than one.
…
Click-clack click-clack. Click click click, clack click, clack click.
That was the sound I woke up to. My eyes slowly fluttered open. What was that? At first, I thought maybe it was part of my dream. But after taking a moment to wake up, it was still there.
Click, click-click clack, click. Clack.
It was unlike any sound I had heard in our house before. I couldn't put my finger on it.
I rolled over and looked at my clock. 9:45.
OMGOSH, we were going to be late for church!
I was out of bed in an instant. The strange sound forgotten, I wrenched my door open and ran up and down the hall hammering on all of the bedroom doors with the palm of my hand, hollering like a colonial town crier as I did so.
"MOM! DAD! JACK! KEVIN! IT'S ALMOST 10 O'CLOCK! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR CHURCH! HURRY! IF WE SKIP BREAKFAST WE MIGHT STILL MAKE IT ON TIME!"
I bolted down the hallway towards the stairs. No time to wait for them to drag themselves out of bed. My mind was reeling. Maybe if I was quick enough, I could run to the pantry and stuff some yogurt cups and plastic spoons into a bag for us to eat on the way, so we wouldn't have to skip breakfast after all.
Down the stairs I rhythmically rushed, one-two-one-two-one-two-one-two. But when I reached the bottom, I stopped dead in my tracks. I had found the source of the strange sound; in fact, it was staring me right in the face.
There was a tall redheaded boy tap-dancing in our living room.
…
He stopped in mid-step and glanced over at me. We stared at each other for a slightly uncomfortable amount of time; him at me with confusion and me at him with frightened awe.
I didn't know what to say or do. Any question seemed rude to ask offhand. No words came, and I became increasingly aware that my mouth was open in a fish-like "O". I stood like a statue on the bottom step.
Finally, the red-haired stranger broke the silence. He smiled and said brightly, "Hi."
My expression stayed frozen. "Uhhhhh…" I uttered. "Hi." Not the most intelligent-sounding response, but what else could I say?
The boy began to walk towards me, his tap shoes click-clacking with every step he took. I stayed on the step, unmoving.
When he reached me, he gladly stuck out his hand. "You must be Kevin's little sister!" he said gaily.
My pupils dilated. So this stranger knew my brother…wait a minute…was this boy…
But I didn't ask. Instead, I nervously extended my hand and took his. "Uhhhhh…hi," I repeated. My cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. Wow, I thought to myself. Look at you, Miss Queen of Vocabulary.
The boy chuckled. "Hi!" he reciprocated as he heartily shook my hand. My cheeks felt like they were going to burst into flames.
After a few spirited shakes, the boy released my hand. I remained frozen. Even after a hello and a handshake, I still didn't know what to do or say, but the normal color returned to my face.
The boy looked behind me towards the top of the stairs. "Everything okay up there?" he asked me.
My cheeks reignited. So he'd heard my little scene upstairs. "Uhhh…uhhh…I…I…uhhh…," I stammered.
Suddenly, Kevin walked in from the bathroom. He was fully dressed, in a t-shirt and leisurely jeans. Definitely not church attire…But thank the Lord, an interruption.
When he saw me, his face lit up. "Well good morning, Miss Marie!" he greeted me cheerily. "I see you've met Connor!"
Connor. So that was this mysterious houseguest's name. But I was still shell-shocked from this whole thing, so all I could say was, "Uhhhh…uh, yeah! So he's your…?" I trailed off because I wasn't sure what to add to that. Boyfriend? Lover? Significant other?
Both boys nodded and smiled.
"Yeah!" Kevin replied, followed by a "Yup!" from Connor. Neither of them said anything after that. And neither did I for a moment.
After a brief period of silence, I remembered my previous rush and asked Kevin, "So what's going on? It's almost time for church!"
Kevin sat down on the couch. "Oh, we're not going to church today, sweetie," he said.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. Not going to church? Never was such a sentence uttered in the Price household. We never skipped church. Not even if one of us was sick; in that case, someone would stay home with the sick person and serve as caretaker while the rest of us went to church. Not even if all of us were sick; okay, that was only once when I was really little (all five of us got horrible head colds but at least got an entire pew all to ourselves). Not even if we were on vacation; we either timed our family trips so we would make it back home in time for church, or we looked for a church to attend in the area where we were. The Price family was not a family to miss church. Ever.
"What!?" I responded, my voice squeaking with concern. "Did Mom and Dad say so?"
"Sort of," Kevin replied. "Connor drove up from Provo really early this morning so he could meet Mom and Dad and-"
"What?!" I exclaimed again. "But I thought we were all going to meet him together! I thought we weren't even going to meet him today! I thought you were just going to tell us about him!"
Kevin put his hand up to stop me. "Hold on!" he said. "Let me finish. I prayed about it, and I thought that Mom and Dad should know first. After you went to sleep, I went into Mom and Dad's room and told them about Connor, and then I called him and put it on speaker so they could talk to him. They really wanted to meet him, and his parents are at a retreat in Idaho this weekend, so we arranged to have him drive up here today from Provo, where he lives, so all of us could meet him. With all that plus me coming out yesterday…we just decided to take today off from church. Mom and Dad went to the store to get donuts for breakfast to celebrate meeting Connor. They didn't want to wake you and Jack up so early since we weren't going to church, so they wanted to let you two sleep in a bit."
"Too late," said a half-awake Jack who was trudging down the stairs behind me. He froze when he saw Connor and, confused, looked at Kevin and I, waiting for an explanation.
Kevin smiled. "Jack, meet Connor," he said.
Connor grinned at Jack and stuck his hand out. Jack, still a bit dazed from having just woken up, tentatively took it.
Jack blinked a few times. I could tell he still wasn't fully awake yet. "So, are you…?" he said, trailing off as I had done.
Both Connor and Kevin chuckled and nodded. Still confused, Jack looked at me, and I nodded in confirmation.
Another awkward silence descended upon us. But Heavenly Father is kind, and it was interrupted by the garage door opening.
Kevin's face lit up. "There's Mom and Dad!" he exclaimed. "Jack, would you go into the kitchen and get plates for everybody? They brought donuts!"
Jack shrugged and strolled to the kitchen, while Kevin turned on his heels and headed towards the garage.
This left me alone with Connor. I remained on the bottom of the stairs. I hadn't moved at all…
I looked up at Connor. He smiled at me expectantly, as if he were waiting for me to say something, anything.
"So…uhhhh…Connor," I reiterated. I nearly kicked myself for that one. I was trying to make a good first impression, but my less-than outstanding speaking skills paired with my horrendous-looking bed head wasn't helping much.
But Connor laughed. "Yup!" he said gaily. "Connor!"
I managed a small chuckle and smiled. Connor. A name I would remember forever.
...
Well, there ya have it! Connor has pranced onto the scene!
But there is more to come...much more...
We've got an entire summer to chronicle, so be sure to stick around! :)