J.M.J.
Author's note: Thank you for reading! Special thanks to everyone who reviewed! The next chapter will be out tomorrow! God bless!
October 10 – Tuesday
Joe hadn't been this thrilled to be behind the wheel of a car since the first time he had driven by himself after getting his driver's license. Since then, it had gotten to be such an everyday thing that there wasn't much excitement left in it anymore, but after four months, much o that novelty had returned. Even just driving through Bayport and seeing that it somehow hadn't changed much was a good feeling. Somehow, Joe had half-expected that everything would be different now, but there were the same, old houses he had gone past hundreds of times, the same stoplights, the same gas stations, the same mini-mall, the same parks. There were even the same people walking on the streets. Joe knew some of them. There were others that he had never met, but he had seen them on these same streets. Better yet, most of them didn't seem to notice him and so they just went about their business. Joe had been a little concerned about going out in public and having people ask him all kinds of questions, but in the car, he was just another driver that no one paid any attention to.
It wasn't long before he had gotten out of town. It was a short drive of a couple of miles on the highway and then he turned onto a side road. A mile and a quarter down that, nestled between a couple of hills out of sight of the highway, was the Mortons' farmhouse. Joe smiled when he saw it. Growing up, it had practically been a second home with how often he and Frank had gone there to see Chet and Iola. It was good to see that it hadn't changed either. Even Chet's old yellow car was still sitting out in the driveway.
Joe had no sooner parked than the front door to the house flew open. Iola came running out and had reached him by the time he had gotten out of the car. They embraced one another, pressing each other close.
"I was so afraid I'd never see you again, Joe," Iola said as they were still holding one another.
"I know," Joe replied. "I was afraid of that, too."
Iola looked up at him. "Are you okay?"
"I am now," Joe told her. "Are you?"
Iola rested her head against his shoulder again. "I think so. I will be."
They remained liked that for several more minutes. No one else made a move to come out of the house, which was fine with Joe. He wanted to see Mr. and Mrs. Morton—and Chet, of course—but he was grateful for a chance to talk to Iola alone for a little while. He would go in and talk to them in a bit.
In the meantime, they walked to an oak where there used to be a tire swing, although it had been taken down several years ago. They sat down under it, the leaves that had already fallen rustling as they did.
"I guess Chet must have already told you a lot of what happened," Joe said.
"A lot of it," Iola agreed. "There wasn't time to tell everything. He didn't make it sound all bad, but I got the idea he was sugarcoating it."
"Probably." Joe grinned wryly. "But it could have been worse. The scenery was pretty nice. Although I like it here better."
"The fall colors?" Iola asked teasingly.
"Not exactly."
Iola smiled at him, but then her smile faltered slightly. "Joe, there's a lot I want to talk to you about. But not right now. I don't want to think about the last few months for a little while."
"That's all right," Joe assured her. "There's time enough to work through all that. At the moment, I'd rather just think about right now."
They looked at each other for a moment, and then they kissed. And right now was enough for them.
HBNDHBNDHB
Frank took a deep breath as he placed his hand on the door to Callie's room. He had met her parents in the hallway and they had greeted him more enthusiastically than Frank had expected. He had been a little afraid that they might blame him for what had happened to Callie, but there was nothing of that in their manner. They only assured him that they were glad that he and the others were all right.
Frank didn't have any fears for how Callie would feel about him. She would have had to change a lot for that, even more than Frank had changed himself. Whatever else had changed about him, the only difference in how Frank felt toward Callie was that he felt more shy about going in to see her than he had even back when he had asked her on their first date. Then he had only been worried about whether she would like him or if he would do something embarrassingly awkward. Now he felt as if he was about to burst in on something sacred.
He knocked softly, but there was no answer. He had been warned that she was probably asleep. He braced himself and pushed the door open, stepping in silently and letting the door close slowly. This was an occasion that called for reverence.
Then he looked up and saw her lying there, her eyes closed. Her blonde hair was rumpled and her face was pale, but Frank thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. For a few seconds, he could only stand there. Then he softly walked across the room and sat in the chair next to the bed. He moved it slightly as he did, and the noise was just enough to cause Callie's eyelids to flicker.
She turned her head slightly toward him. "Frank?" Her voice was almost too soft to hear.
Frank impulsively reached for her hand. "I'm here now, Callie."
The corners of her lips turned upward. "Frank, I had the most terrible nightmare."
Frank squeezed her hand. "I know. But we're all awake now."
