The Fourth Sunrise (4 page)

Chapter Three

Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 9:45 p.m.

“
How were you able to sneak out?” Sharee asked from across the table.

“
How do you know I went?”

“
There wouldn’t be much else to the story if you didn’t.”

“
That’s true. Of course, I went. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. I was even sloppy about sneaking out. I didn’t care. All I knew was that nothing was going to stop me from seeing her again.”

“
Why?” Sharee asked. “What was so special about her?”

“
Something I can’t put it into words. All I knew was that knowing this woman was going to change my life.”

“
You knew that already?”

“
I did. It was like I saw into her soul and what I saw was the most beautiful creature in the world. I had never felt that before. It was as if she was completely, exposed, I saw her every perfection, her every flaw. All of it was beautiful.”

July 1968 – Delta, Colorado - Deltarado Days, 9:00 p.m.

“Like I said, it didn’t take much to sneak out of my room. The fair was about two miles away. So, it took a good half hour to get there on foot.

“
It was a typical street fair that small towns like to throw for the pride of their community. This one was two streets full of booths ranging from throwing darts at balloons to a cotton candy stand. I was more of a peanuts kind of guy myself and sure enough, there was a stand that just sold peanuts. Normally, I would have waited in a long line for some honey-roasted peanuts, but I had other plans for this night.

“
At the far end of the street were some simple rides. There was a merry-go-round and a fun house. Small town fairs are really cool. I was from a little town, and I appreciated the effort that a fair like this takes. There is a lot of pride that goes into a town fair.

“
I remember walking down the street, wondering what I was doing. What I was seeking. I was a simple man and everything I did had a purpose. This was different. I had no idea what to expect. That was really exciting to me. I’m not sure if it was stupidity or hormones. Maybe it was an unwilling desire to find true love that was bestowed on me as a quest by my parents’ perfect marriage. All I knew was, nothing was going to stop me from seeing Christine on this evening. My coaches could fine me for breaking curfew. They could even suspend me for a couple of games. But I was going to see that woman again and that was all there was to it.

“
She had told me she would be working on a softball throw booth. I went down each row looking for her until I caught a glimpse of her from about fifty feet away. She was at the end of the third row, running a softball-toss booth, just like she had said. She was the cutest woman alive.

“
The booth she worked was a game where if you knocked down the three bowling pins completely off the table, you won a giant giraffe. The giraffe looked to be about five feet tall. The game was rigged from what I could tell because you could knock down the pins and not necessarily knock them off the table. They only gave you one throw. So basically, you needed to hit the pins with so much strength that you swept them completely off the table. Not too many people could do that. I could.

“
There were five people in line and the game cost a quarter. That was a big deal in those days. A quarter could buy a lot. So only high rollers were in that line, you know, the kind of guys who were out to impress their dates but usually missed by a mile.

“
I stared at Christine and was just mesmerized by her. Her skin was milky white and her fair complexion was perfect. She hadn’t seen me yet, and to be honest, I doubted that she would be as excited to see me as I was to see her. This is where that stupid voice in my head usually sabotaged moments like this. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen this time. I was at least going to say hi.

“
I waited in line and stared at Christine until we made eye contact. After a minute, she finally looked in my direction. Her eyes grew huge and she smiled real big.
Boy, did that make me feel good.

“
It took a couple minutes but I was finally next in line to go. I was really excited at the prospect of winning her a giraffe like I told her I would.

“
There was a man in his thirties and his son right in front of me. They were both trying real hard and going through a lot of quarters trying to win themselves a big giraffe. His son looked to be about eight years old. The man and his son took turns trying to knock down the pins and neither one was close.

“
The poor dad tried his hardest but it wasn’t happening for him. His dad looked at his son and said, ‘This is the last quarter, son. I know you want the giraffe, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Do you want to throw it?’ the man asked his son.

“‘
No, Dad,’ the little boy said. The little boy had brown hair and a face full of freckles. ‘I can’t watch. You do it.’ Then the little boy turned around so he couldn’t watch his dad miss. It broke my heart. I walked over and grabbed a softball that was on the counter to just hold it in my hand to get a good feel for it. I was next up, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to pick a ball at this point. I took a step back and was about two feet behind the dad. The dad had missed the pins completely—more than once in the last five minutes. So, I figured this throw wouldn’t be any different. I looked over at his son and he was covering his eyes with both hands.

“
The dad sighed and was getting ready to throw. With his son’s eyes closed, I tapped on the dad’s shoulder and motioned for him to move out of the way. I gave the dad the
shush
sign and he seemed confused, but he got out of the way. Then in a burst of energy, I gripped the softball with my right hand and threw it as hard as I could at the three bowling pins. I hit the pins and all three pins fell off the table.

At the sound of the pins crashing off the table, the little boy opened his eyes and yelled, ‘You did it! I can’t believe it, Dad— you knocked off all of them!’

“The boy was so happy. The man motioned to me: ‘Thank you.’

“
They both walked off with huge smiles on their faces and I turned and faced Christine.

“
She said, ‘That was possibly the sweetest thing I have ever seen. That was amazing!’

“‘
Sorry, I can’t win you one now. I let the man have it,’ I said, smiling.

“‘
Why not? I just saw a dad win a giraffe for his son.’

“
I smiled at Christine. I think she wanted to see if I could make it if it was for her. I loved a challenge. I gladly handed her a quarter. I took a step back and gave her a giant wink. Then I threw the softball, nearly exploding them off the table to win Christine her prize.

“‘
That was pretty dramatic,’ she said, laughing. ‘You are just everybody’s hero tonight, aren’t you?’

“‘
Hero is a pretty big statement. I’ll accept Greek god or God’s gift.’

“‘
Oh, you will, huh?’ She gave me an odd look, as if I had failed some potential boyfriend test.

“
I knew I’d better tone it down and get humble fast. This was the type of girl who liked confidence but not a guy who was cocky.

“
I said, ‘The truth is, I was scared to death both times. I didn’t want to let any of you down.’

“
Christine stared deeply into my eyes and said, ‘You are very sweet.’

“‘
I’ll accept that. I took a chance and it could have ended real badly with a kid crying and a dad yelling at me. I am glad it worked out.’

“
Christine looked at me in a way no woman ever has. It was beyond attraction. It was as if she sized me up at the moment and took stock of who I was. And I felt it. It was pulling at me. So much so that I couldn’t process it in my head.

“‘
When is this thing over?’ I asked.

“‘
This
thing
goes until 2:00 in the morning,’ she said, laughing at my choice of words.

“‘
Wow, that’s pretty late!’

“‘
Don’t sound so disappointed we only have this
thing o
nce a year.’

“‘
Sorry, calling this ‘a thing’ was a bad choice of words, but if I can be completely honest with you, meeting someone like you happens only once in a lifetime.’”

Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 10:05 p.m.

“You really said that?” Sharee asked.

“
Why do you ask?”

“
Because that is a pretty heavy line to lay on a woman, five minutes into your second conversation.”

“
It is what I felt, so it was what I said.”

“
How did she respond?”

“
She didn’t. She acted almost as if she didn’t hear it.”

“
She heard it. Trust me on that.” Sharee leaned in and wanted more of the story.

July 1968 – Delta, Colorado - Deltarado Days, 10:30 p.m.

‘“I get off at two, so…’ Christine said.

‘“
Isn’t your dad going to come pick you up? Or a boyfriend?’ I asked, trying to subtly get the details if she had a boyfriend.

‘“
You think I might have a boyfriend?’ Christine asked with a big smile on her face.

‘“
How could you not? You must be the grand prize in this town. You’d be the top trophy in any town.’

‘“
Prize and trophy? Nice to know how you see women.’

‘“
I didn’t mean it like that. I met that I’m just surprised you don’t have a boyfriend.’

‘“
What I have,’ she said, ‘is something a little more complicated than I would like to get into right now.’

‘“
So, you do have a boyfriend?’ I asked.

‘“
Not at the present moment. We recently broke up.’ Christine said the statement in a way that I wasn’t sure how she felt about the breakup. There was a bit of excitement and pain in her voice.

“‘
I’m sorry to hear that.’ Actually, I was pleased as punch to hear that bit of information. I just wasn’t sure how close they had been or still were.

“
Christine looked up at my face and said, ‘He’s a good man. Just not…’

‘“
Just not… what?’

‘“
Just not what I expected in a boyfriend.’

“‘
Why is that?’ I asked.

‘“
I’m a romantic at heart and he isn’t. But he showed me he cared by what he did for me. He was just not a good communicator.’

‘“
Where is he right now?’ I asked.

“‘
Boot camp.’

“‘
He got drafted?’

‘“
Nope, he volunteered. There is this goofy war out there where men are coming home in droves in body bags, but he insisted on fighting for his country.’

‘“
I want to hate this guy, but he is sure making it hard,’ I said.

‘“
He was sent out to South Carolina a month ago. We broke up right before he left.’ I could tell Christine was feeling a little more comfortable talking about it.

‘“
Well, I hope he stays safe,’ I said. ‘I got lucky, I got missed the first time around from the draft lottery. Thank God for baseball.’

‘“
Just ‘cause you play baseball, you don’t get drafted?’

‘“
Not exactly, it just gives you a better chance not to be. Some ball players got drafted. I was lucky.’

‘“
You don’t want to fight for your country?’ Christine asked.

‘“
Christine, don’t get me wrong. I love this country. I just think this war makes no sense. But I’m telling you, if some crazy country wants to attack us on our land, I would be the first to sign up. I’m just not so keen on going halfway across the world to fight in a battle that I’m not exactly sure who our enemy is and why exactly we’re fighting.’

‘“
You’re pretty philosophical. I like that. You take things in and digest them and come up with your own opinions.’

“
I looked deep into Christine’s eyes. I had never felt so comfortable looking into a woman’s eyes. They were beautiful and comforting. I said, ‘I would love to walk you home.’ I knew I was risking getting seriously fined for sneaking out, but I didn’t care. I smiled and knew in my heart there was no place I’d rather be at 2:00 in the morning than walking this amazing woman to her house.