Celia's Puppies by Claudia Hall Christian Page B

about Trevor stealing her away. She was now
sound asleep in the middle of their bed.
    And Jill was talking about her day.
    “ So Katy’s napping on my
lap and Paddie was asleep against Colin’s shoulder,” Jill said.
“Well, Alex says, ‘I’ve fought my little brother three times this
year. Who do you think won?’”
    Jacob smirked.
    “ Do you know the answer?”
Jill asked.
    Jacob nodded.
    “ This man with silver hair
and blue eyes walks in the room like he owns it. Alex and Colin bow
to him. I guess he’s their teacher. Anyway, he makes Colin show me
how much bigger he is than Alex. His arms are long and he’s like
five inches bigger than Alex. He’s like fifty or sixty pounds
heavier. Anyway, the teacher asks me: ‘Who would win if these two
fought?’ I say, ‘Colin, of course’. But...”
    “ Alex won every time,”
Jacob said.
    “ Isn’t that amazing? The
teacher said if you aren’t the biggest, you have to think the
fastest to out maneuver your opponent. He said Alex thinks really
fast, so she always wins. He said the only way to win against
Trevor is to out think him. Go after him head to head, and I will
lose like I always have in the past. Then he showed me some simple
movements that would keep Trevor off me. When Katy woke up, Alex
taught them to Katy.”
    “ Sounds like you were
pretty impressed with Miss Alex,” Jacob said.
    “ How do you know them?”
she asked.
    “ I met them through Mike,”
Jacob said. “ I’ve also rehabbed a couple houses for them. I play
hockey with Colin. I think mostly, they’re always up for some
adventure. We’ve been fly fishing, backpacking,
hunting...”
    “ Adventure? Yeah. I mean,
who knew? Alex showed me her scars and stuff. I...” Jill beamed. “I
feel really hopeful, like everything is going to work
out.”
    Jill looked down at her hands. While she
talked, she had been playing with an object in her hand. She looked
up at Jacob, then smiled.
    “ Thanks,” she
said.
    “ For what?” Jacob
asked.
    “ For not being mad about
my hair,” Jill said.
    “ I’m mad about your hair,”
he said.
    “ Well, not being mad at
me,” Jill said. “It feels really good to be here with you
and...”
    “ And?”
    “ I don’t know.” Jill
looked back down at the object in her hand.
    “ What is that?” Jacob
asked.
    “ This?” Jill held up a
gold button. “It’s not anything really. I play with it when I’m
having a hard time. I’d forgotten about it. I mean, everything has
been so hard this year. Sandy reminded me of it when she did my
hair. She got it from my purse when I started crying.”
    “ May I see it?”
    Jill set it in his hand. Made out of some
kind of metal, the button was gold in color. It was round on the
top, flat at the back with a simple metal loop to connect it to a
jacket or maybe a shirt.
    “ I’ve had the button with
me through almost every really hard thing for… Oh, I guess, the
last four or five years.”
    “ I can feel the bumps, but
I’m not sure what’s on it.” Jacob set the button in her
hand.
    “ I don’t really know.
There used to be a pattern but I think I rubbed it off. I run my
finger over it when I’m worried.”
    “ What does it mean?” Jacob
asked.
    “ It’s a very long story
and...” Jill sighed. “You’ll be asleep again soon. I’d rather you
sleep, and get better, than stay up all night listening to me talk
about the past.”
    “ Will you tell me
tomorrow?” Jacob stretched his left arm out in a yawn. Jill was
right about going back to sleep.
    “ Let’s see what tomorrow
brings,” Jill said. “Mike asked Megan, Steve, Candy and me to be
here with him today. Everyone is coming at eight. Oprah’s going to
be here all day and...”
    “ But you’ll tell
me.”
    “ Of course. I was
thinking...”
    She raised her eyebrow then smiled.
    “ Yes, I do want to make
love with you.”
    “ I’m so glad,” Jill
whispered.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Thursday morning — 5:20 A.M.
Fort Logan Cemetery
     
    “