Chapter 5

At church the next Sunday, a very pretty but older girl was standing with Tommy as we came up. Tommy said, "Mona, this is April. April, this is my sister, Mona."

She quickly said, "April, I apologize. It was a cruel joke and wasn't funny to boot. I hope you can get your relationship back to how it was with Tommy."

April looked at her for a long moment. "I forgive you, Mona. I've forgiven Tommy. However, it will take a long, long time for him to rebuild my trust " She nodded at them and went on toward her class.

As we went by, Tommy said, "Good morning, Mister and Missus Sanderson. Hello, May." We all nodded but went on. We were stopped to talk to friends. In the corner of my eye, I saw Mona and Tommy standing together looking a bit forlorn. His eyes were a bit teary. They gave each other a hug and went on to their classes, I guess.

After Sunday school, April was walking with Tommy and holding his hand. They were close when Tommy said, "Let's sit with the other kids in back."

April released his hand. "You go ahead. I will sit with my parents. I like them."

Tommy sat in back with the other teens. April sat with us next to Laura and seemed okay though a bit wistful.

The summer went on and Laura used her summer vacation to read the Bible through before she did anything else. We had set up the reading schedule for the girls. They moaned about it just for show.

Laura did lay out and work on her tan. She got me up each morning to run before we showered. Watching her run helped keep me motivated. She asked me once as we were walking a cool down block to the house, why I followed her when we went single file. She used the old lead dog view adage. I replied that the lead dog may get a changing view but I was a man and, watching her backside as she ran, was a thing of joy and wonder. She blushed but didn't ask again. Sometimes, she wanted me in front and gave the same reason.

Tommy came over but, to my knowledge, never when Laura wasn't home. He wasn't over as much as I had thought he might be either. April sat with us in church and he continued to sit in back. When he asked her to go to the Fourth of July parade and fireworks show and she turned him down, I asked her what was going on.

"Dad, we're just growing apart. He wants to do things with people I don't like because of how they act. The girls who hang out with that group aren't people I want known as my crowd. I may be a goody two-shoes but I am happy with that. Tommy wants different. His sister spoiled his mind in some way. I just can't get comfortable with trusting him. If he doesn't break up with me, I will break up with him. There was a joy that just isn't there any longer."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It happens though. As people get older, their values can change as well as their attitudes toward others. At some point, you will lose your innocence. I hope it isn't soon. God's values are eternal. One of those values taught in the Bible is that sex outside of marriage is wrong. Your mother and I stretched that as far as possible but never stepped over the line. I have to admit that I'm glad though it made me frustrated on occasion. There is a value there that is long-lasting for both of us. It was and is right for us."

"It's right for me, too, Dad."

I smiled. "Since you can't date until you're fifty, that will be frustrating." April hugged me and went off laughing. Later, we went to the parade as a family.

I saw Robert there with Jeanette. They came up to us. Jeanette said, "I see April. I thought she and Tommy would be together."

Laura said, "He asked her but she is not comfortable with the group he hangs with now. She gave him the option to join us but he declined. I'm afraid it's going to be over soon. They just never clicked like before the summer started."

Jeanette said, "I'm sorry, too. We like April and how she acts. We never worried about them being together. We are beginning to worry about Tommy. I hope he gets his thinking straight after school starts."

We offered each other our "Happy Fourth of July" greetings and went our separate ways. I realized that the relationship between April and Tommy was broken. We didn't see Tommy the rest of the summer even in church. April didn't mention him. School was starting and all my girls were looking forward to it.

Laura started a week early for her preparation. To the surprise of many, Doctor Colbert had been reassigned to an elementary school! The new principal was at least starting off well. She called all the teachers together and told them that she expected to hear from them on the effect of decisions and for them to tell her about problems and about things that were working and not working. Laura said that it was a breath of fresh air and she was hopeful. The new principal was stopping by each teacher's working room to talk and get to know the faculty. She was on the list for Wednesday and was looking forward to it.

Wednesday came and I collected pizzas and ice cream for supper. I walked into a happy family who almost cheered my pizza. We opened boxes and pulled plates, gathered our beverages, and April prayed for our food and for Tom! I said, "Obviously, there are at least two of you with news this evening. Who's first?"

April pointed at Laura. Laura shrugged and said, "Mine is almost anticlimactic. The new principal came by for a one on one meeting today. She is nice though I can tell she can be tough when needed. She apologized for the troubles I had last year. She plans for no difficulties this year and asked me to help her if I had any difficulties in this new school year. She is married and uses 'Missus, in front of her name. She admitted that she has a doctorate but is more proud of being married to a wonderful man. She understands that I have a similar pride. I told her that I do and am enjoying having two daughters as well. We talked about our families after that more than anything else. She plans some get-togethers over the year and wants to include families in them. It was a good time."