Blood and Sympathy by Lori L. Clark Page A

Braden, I
didn't have a lot of free time with graduation approaching. But I managed to
zip off a quick letter to let him know that despite my inability to speak in
complete sentences, I had really enjoyed meeting him.
    Dear Braden,
    It was really nice to
meet you, too. You don't need to apologize for not being talkative. It wasn't
just you. For whatever reason, the cat seemed to have gotten my tongue that
day. Trust me when I tell you, I am normally never that quiet. If you doubt
that, just ask Olivia.
    I would love to see
the grin on your face when you walk out of WTJDC as a free man. Of course I
want to be there! There is a lot going on with graduation, but I promise to
make time for you.
    I didn't get into
trouble when I got home, Dad didn't even notice I was gone, and Olivia was
uncharacteristically happy for me. I think she envies me a little and wants to
live vicariously through me. I don't need your help pissing off my dad; believe
me when I tell you, I am more than capable of doing that all by myself. J
    Standing up for what I
believe in has never been an issue. Learning when to say when is another story.
There are times when it's best just to swallow my pride and suck it up like a
big girl. Ha!
    You've inspired me to
start my own bucket list. I have written it down, but no one has seen it but me.
Maybe we can share our lists with each other. I'll help you with yours, and you
can help me with mine.
    No, I'm not afraid of
the dark. Some of my best times have been after dark. Olivia and I have never
seen anything creepy running the trails at the lake, but sometimes homeless
people hang out there. They're mostly harmless bums, and they don't stick around
too long, since the park rangers keep a pretty close watch and chase them off
before they can get too comfortable.
    The music box is
beautiful. If Claire means clear and bright, what does Braden mean?
    Looking forward to
seeing you again on June first!
    Claire
    I felt like I was standing on the edge of a giant
precipice, that my life was about to change in inconceivable ways. I looked
forward to new beginnings--being out of high school--finally. I hadn't made up
my mind what I was going to do as far as college was concerned, much to my
dad's dismay.
    Summer was meant for fun. I vowed to spend every
day living my life to the fullest, and if that meant deciding whether to jump
or stay put, I was hopeful that I'd get a sign from the infinite unknown to
help me make up my mind.
    In some ways, Braden and I were a lot alike. He
would be putting one foot in front of the other and looking for his wings along
the way. His advantage over me was that he was coming to the edge with a clean
slate, whereas my board had been written and erased so many times, I wasn't
sure anyone would ever be able to read and understand what I was trying to do.
    Though I was in no hurry to commit to any kind of
plan, there was always a niggling tickle in the back of my mind reminding me
that time waits for no one, and I could run but I couldn't hide.
    I put in my application to help out in the bakery
over the summer, and I was looking forward to making some extra cash so that I
could maybe see about buying my own car. So what if I told Dad I wanted a job
to save up some money to help with furthering my education. I don't think I
made a very convincing case, but if he didn't believe my story, he never said.
I accidentally on purpose neglected to mention the job was at the bakery. We
both knew how he felt about my pursuing something as nonsensical as working in a
kitchen for a living. He'd reminded me many times that a woman's place was in
the kitchen -- only if her husband could afford to keep her there.
    First, my graduation.
    Second, Braden's homecoming.

 
    PART TWO
    MAY 2014

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
    Claire
Copeland
     
    It stopped raining long enough for the graduation
ceremony to be held on the football field instead of in the all-purpose room.
Ours wasn't a large class, but it was the biggest in the