You Were Told (circa 2008)

You were told by family

That you sang beautifully

You were told by your superiors

That you were never inferior

But were you ever told

"It's not a lie, you deserve to die?"

Friends forever, always and never.

Book Review: Insignia by S. J. Kincaid

Insignia is a Young Adult novel. I’m not sure I’m qualified to chunk it into a genre but it is set in futuristic America (more or less) where various world governments have formed political alliances based on economic monopolies supporting them. The different alliances are at war with each other but in a new way. Battling starships in space remotely. Seems pretty cool. Control of the ships is based on a neural implant that allows the combatants to sort of mind-meld with the computers.

Due to biological reasons, teenagers are the best candidates for these neural processors. Only the best and brightest are chosen. They are scooped up by the military, sent off to training, and download their homework directly into their brains. Yea, I wish. 

The main character, Tom, is the homeless son of a gambling deadbeat dad. Tom illegally makes enough money to put himself and his father in a hotel room by making bets on various virtual reality games. He’s very good at the games and catches the military’s attention. They recruit him and he starts training. 

In his tactics class, Tom he notices that the enemy has a particular combatant that just can’t be beat. Her call sign is Medusa and Tom becomes obsessed. He watches footage of all her battles over and over again. When Tom starts meeting Medusa in virtual reality games, he hardly thinks about it being treason. After all, he’s just trying to beat her; he’s not sharing confidential secrets. But when an information leak occurs, Tom must prove to himself and his superiors that his meetings with Medusa were not to blame.

Here’s my opinion: for a good portion of this novel, I had an entirely Ender’s Game feel for the book. It could be because I read that recently and it just blew me away. Ender’s Game was one of those books that when I closed it after the last page, I knew. I knew it would be hanging over my head, affecting my opinion of every book I ever read after it. Very few books have done that to me. (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Hunger Games, The Book Thief, Ender’s Game)

While Insignia was not one of them, I did really like it. And it did share some things with Ender’s Game. They both have a kids-fight-space-wars premise. Both characters are abnormally good at what they do and have been deemed “vicious.” 

By around the middle of the book, I found this comparison less weighty. I really enjoyed the book and will probably buy the next in the series. The author knows how to pull you in; the dialogue seems both realistic and appropriate for the ages of the characters. 

As far as moral appropriateness, there is some minor toilet humor. I don’t recall any foul language. A few innuendos that are probably acceptable for most teens and preteens. The one example of this I can think of: when Tom first gets put into a simulation as a female character, his friend Wyatt (female) has to tell him not to explore his new boobs in front of her. Otherwise, a pretty clean read.

Book Review: The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach

Hi all,

I recently received an ARC of The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach as a contest winner for the incredibly useful blog Literary Rambles (http://www.literaryrambles.com/). Of course, I'm always willing to read more books so here's my opinion on this one.

Recently, I read somewhere that the young main character going off to a grandparent's / other elderly relative's home for summer vacation is a tired trope. That premise inspires no disdain or otherwise negative feelings for me; so I'm fine with the premise of this book.

Which is: young cousins William and Maxine are sent to their grandfather's manor for the summer. Maxine arrives at the manor first, and upon exploration finds no one present. She holes up in the library for awhile until William arrives. The cousins get the chance to explore more thoroughly before Colonel Battersea (their grandpa) finally shows up. After receiving a weird telegram though, he rounds the children up and starts traveling for NYC. He tells the kids that he'll put them to bed in a hotel and then head off to collect a package from a courier.

When the group gets off the train though, Colonel Battersea disappears. The kids try to get help from law enforcement but eventually decide their best bet is to meet the courier. This decision starts a grand adventure to rescue the courier's package from gangsters, their grandpa from secretive assassins, and themselves from all the danger in between.

In my opinion, this was a fun story. The characters are engaging, the plot appropriately paced. The language was a bit flowery, almost in a poetic way. I'm not sure if that's a product of the author's voice or the historical setting. Regardless, it was done well and not overdone so I like it. Also, I'm glad to say that this book is totally kid appropriate (good thing since it's aimed for a younger audience). And Colonel Battersea's adventurous ways are built up with some good wisdom and hopefulness that shows up near the end.

Accolades to the author; I would be intrigued enough to buy into this if he intends to make it into a series. (It seems like that's where this is headed since the kids' summer isn't over and now they're on to a new adventure.) Particularly, I want to know about Nura's (the courier) journey to bring the package to Colonel Battersea.

TV Series Review: Fringe

Ok, so my husband and I have a tendency to watch an episode or two of whatever show we're involved in before bed time. I believe it was on recommendation from my Mom but we started watching Fringe. I liked it pretty much from the beginning. Now that we've finished the series, I'm trying to work out how I feel about the show as a whole. Be warned this show has a convoluted plot so the post is going to be pretty long.

**SPOILER ALERT** I would like to talk about this show as a whole so if you don't want to hear about major plot twists or the ending, stop reading. Go watch it then come back.

The premise for the show is pretty cool: FBI agent (Olivia) starts investigating cases that are on the strange side and needs help from the scientist that invented much of the technology that makes these cases strange (Walter). He's in a mental institution and can only be signed out by his son (Peter). Olivia tracks Peter down somewhere in the Middle East where he seems to be conning people and running from life in general. Peter has a very strained relationship with his father but agrees to help Olivia and, to his dismay, winds up becoming Walter's caretaker and mad-scientist-translator.

Eventually, Peter and Walter become permanent consultants for the FBI and with Olivia are made into a "Fringe" team. Think Scully and Mulder except with a crazy uncle hanging around saying weird things and self-medicating. That's one thing I thought annoying about the show: quite a bit of drug usage. 

The events and technology that the team investigates are interesting, though often seem far-fetched. Whatever, it's sci-fi; I kind of expect that. Along the way, we find out that Peter is actually from an alternate universe where almost everything is almost the same. Everybody in "our" universe has a duplicate character in the "alternate" universe. Turns out Walter's son Peter died as a child and so he kidnapped alternate Peter and raised him as his son. His crossing of the universes winds up tearing holes in the veil between the universes causing all kinds of mayhem and almost destroying both universes. Walternate (alternate Walter) is ticked both at the loss of his son and at the damage to his universe where people are dying and being set in amber (like fossils).

He sets out to bring his son home and then destroy the universe that Walter is in. Of course, the Fringe team wants to stop him. Peter winds up in Walternate's universe but is told that everyone on the side he was raised on will die. He has to make the choice of staying with his real (somewhat evil) father or go back and fight for the universe he was raised in. At this point, Peter's relationship with Walter has grown enough to where you can see him not wanting Walter dead (though he does feel betrayed about the whole kidnapping thing). In a heartbreaking scene between Olivia and Peter, she finally tells him that there's a bunch of reasons for him to come home, but the only one she really cares about is that he belongs with her.

About time. Shortly after, Faux-livia (alternate Olivia) infiltrates the team by switching places with Olivia while Olivia is held prisoner by Walternate. Relationship drama ensues when Olivia comes home only to find out that Peter never realized Faux-livia wasn't her. Oh and when Faux-livia goes back to her universe, she finds out she's pregnant. Yikes.

Despite the relationship drama, the team learns they have to save the world by putting Peter into this creepy machine that the Walters designed and built. It's supposed to destroy one of the universes but instead he builds a bridge between the two universes, forcing the team to work with the alternate team to try to save both universes. This erases Peter from the timeline.

Here's where things get tricky. The show starts doing weird things with time travel. Much of the plot above results from actions of the "Observers," genetically engineered men from the future that come to observe the humans from our era. One Observer is told to erase what's left of Peter (sort of a ghostly echo) but he disobeys and Peter manages to squeeze himself back into time and the universe proper. Only to find out that everyone has forgotten him. He thinks he came back into the wrong timeline and tries to get Walter (who believes both Peters died as children) and Olivia (who never met Peter in the first place) to help him get back to his timeline. The group works together for awhile and sort of regrows their friendships. A pretty miserable circumstance for Peter.

Eventually, Olivia remembers the first timeline (reference is made to relationships touching hearts in ways such that the soul cannot forget). And winds back up with Peter, having a daughter Etta (Henrietta). But the Observers get a little handsy and take over the universe. Etta is kidnapped at 3 years old; Peter and Olivia fall apart as a couple. He searches for Etta while Olivia works with the Resistance to fight the Observers. They all get ambered and Etta revives them after 21 years. Walter has a plan to save the universe but they have to scavenge all the parts in the places he's hid them. Observers kill Etta, nearly destroying Peter and Olivia's refound relationship.

Peter sticks an Observer's brain chip into his own head and nearly becomes an Observer himself but removes it when he realizes he will lose Olivia (Observers have no emotion and therefore don't love). They eventually get everything they need, including a child Observer (sort of) that needs to be taken to the future to stop the scientists from creating the Observers in the first place. Walter plans to take him (and is inoculated for the trip) but the boy's father inoculates himself to take Walter's place. Unfortunately, in the final gun battle, the boy's father is killed and Walter must take the boy to the future. He has to stay there because otherwise there will be a time paradox or something.

In another heartbreaking scene, Peter calls Walter dad and tells him he loves him before Walter leaves for the distant future with the boy. This erases the Observers and the final scene shows Peter and Olivia playing with young Etta on the day when the Observers would have invaded. They seem to have no memory of the events or of Walter.

My interpretation of this is that there was a lot that they tried to wrap up kind of quickly. Maybe they realized they were not going to be funded for more seasons and decided to close up the best they could. Not bad, if that's the case. The part that bothers me though, is that last part...I felt like the entire purpose of the show, the main message, the whole point, was this broken relationship between father and son (ok so kidnapped son). As the show progresses, Peter goes from darn near hating Walter, to tolerating him, to caring about him, to loving him. If everything happens and he just forgets that Walter ever existed, well then that kind of kills the point. Plus, without Walter the two had no reason really to ever meet and fall in love and have Etta.

That's not even including the fact that if the Observers never existed, then Walternate wouldn't have missed the formula for saving Peter from the disease that killed Walter's Peter and Walter never would have kidnapped him. So Peter wouldn't even be in the same universe as Olivia...not ideal for falling in love and again having Etta. And then finally there's the growth of Peter and Olivia. Similar to the growing relationship between Walter and Peter, the relationship between Olivia and Peter similarly grows and hits major speed bumps and grows.

At the end, you really feel like a lot of who they are as a couple, their strength and love for each other, is what it is because of what they've been through. So how can they be the same people and not remember what made them who they are? I don't know. The not remembering is too tragic. So, in my head, they remember.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. Feel free to chime in if you have opinions.

Book Review: A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

Hi all,

So I'll put this right up front. I liked this book. In all honesty, it's not really my typical genre (horse ranch plus some romance) but it was Christian and free so I thought I'd give it a try.

The plot is more or less: traumatic event triggers panic in pampered rich kid, Noelle. She runs as far as she can before exhaustion drops her in a small town. As the tour bus loads up and leaves her behind, she finds out the town only has two rental places, one rundown shack or the horse ranch. The owner of the ranch, Rick, usually only rents to fellow Christians (and his stubborn brother, Morgan) but is led to let her stay. Painting the beautiful mountain scenes brings in enough cash to pay her rent for the summer months but the ranch is a seasonal business. Rick gives Noelle an ultimatum: tell him what she's running from so he can decide whether or not he's willing to help or she will have to find another place to live.

Unfortunately, you can't run from the past forever. Eventually, it catches up. And leads the characters on a somewhat heartbreaking journey toward forgiveness, faith, and healing.

Again, not being familiar with the author, I was a little concerned this book might take the overused basis: girl meets charming Christian boy, temptation and trials ensue, girl conveniently finds her faith just before boy's interest is lost forever, happily ever after. I am happy to note that this was not the case. Noelle's road to salvation occurred on both a realistic timeline and over an emotional growth that was believable. Kudos, author.

As far as criticism goes, no serious complaints. I thought the plot seemed reminiscent of Safe Haven by Nicolas Sparks. *Shrugs* A lot of books remind me of other books or movies. No problemo. I do have to agree with other reviewers that the writing was longer than necessary but all authors have their own styles. Ms. Heitzmann's style seems to be more literary than I'm used to.

Noelle's behavior was sometimes a bit weird to me. I blamed it on her life as a sheltered rich kid and her PTSD. Also, I've also known people who seem to pick the stupidest of all possible choices no
matter what. A lot of people out there are emotion-driven and will throw common sense out the window when they get upset or scared. So that's not really a big deal to me because I know people who would act like that.

Overall, I liked the book. If I happen to notice other stuff by this author in stores and the plot looks compelling, I'd buy it. 

Book Review: The Sanctuary by Ted Dekker

Lately, I've been doing a lot of reading. Some of it is genre research and some of it is just stuff from my favorite authors that I found at the local used bookstore. Of course, every time I go through the mall, I make a pit-stop at the aforementioned bookstore. I always check to see if there's any Ted Dekker books that I haven't read.

For those of you who don't know, Ted Dekker is actually pretty prolific. I own or have read a lot of his stuff. Imagine my surprise when my last bookstore visit went something like: "Got it, got it, got it, read it, got it...got it. Wait do I have that one? (Picks up like-new, hardcover copy of The Sanctuary and skims the flap description.) I don't think I've ever read this one."

Which leads to my current problem: I don't know how I feel about this book! Most books I read have some message behind them. The Biblical parallels in The Circle Trilogy (*cough* you can't add a fourth book to a trilogy *cough*) Series are beautiful and unique. Skin talks the reader through a discussion of true beauty. The Sanctuary guides the reader down a path that I'm sure is laden with something...I just can't figure out what.

From the very beginning, you're introduced to two characters with immense love for each other. Renee is a neurotic mess fretting over the fate of her beloved. Danny is behind bars, serving time after confessing to murders Renee committed. Danny's not so innocent himself. He's murdered his own fair share of people.

I'm not opposed to a good vigilante story. And after Danny tells you why he killed those people, well you don't really feel that bad for his victims. The plot comes in where Danny is transferred to an experimental prison run by the Warden. The Warden is intent on "breaking" Danny by torturing him until he renounces his recent vow of nonviolence and kills somebody. The Warden doesn't really care who, his prisoners are pawns in his creepy game.

Meanwhile, Renee enlists the help of a former cop when she gets a ransom-like "I'll kill Danny if you don't do what I want" warning. This sets her and the former cop on a somewhat epic adventure. Here, I'm thinking one female lead, two male leads. One of the men is going to die. That's just how these things work. Ok, I was wrong; the main characters don't die. Kudos to Ted Dekker! The only author who I've allowed to kill off a main character (without my renouncing his/her books forever and wanting desperately to throw the book and maybe the author across the room) is Dean Koontz. Plus, The Sanctuary twisted things in a way that defied my expectations.

But I'm not sure I'm ok with that this time. No spoilers here: but I was somewhat disappointed in the final reveal. Shocked, yes, that's always good. But also annoyed. I don't want THAT to happen. Urgh. Well, it's not my story and the ending did turn out pretty good anyway but really Mr. Dekker? *loud sighs*

Also, I'm still not sure where the lesson came into this one. If you love someone with love as strong as God's love for you, you won't be able to control the need to protect and defend them? I'm just not sure if I'm getting this one.

Overall, it was a good book. Not a favorite of mine but everyone has their own tastes. As usual for a Dekker book, the language was clean. Some fighting, torture, and reference to sexual abuse. Maybe not good for the faint of heart. But if you're faint of heart, I'd never recommend a Ted Dekker book anyway. They're too robust. Too scary, too thought-provoking. Too real. Which is why I'll still keep picking up his books.

The Echoes

So, I started this short story in response to a writing prompt that I found. For reasons that will become obvious later, I put the prompt at the bottom of the page.

The Echoes

Today, I didn't get fired. I'm thankful for that. It means I had a good day. Since it's Friday, that means I had a good week. To reward myself for another week employed, I spent the evening relaxing. I ordered in a pepperoni pizza, read a few chapters of the Bible, and watched the Giants game on ESPN.

As I get ready for bed, I wander through the house, following the echoes.

In the bathroom, I stare in the mirror. In the corner of my eyes I see the overhead light shine off my wife's long dark curls. She helps our son, Silas, brush his teeth. He is big enough to do it on his own but you have to cherish the times when they ask for your help. If you don't savor every moment, you long for them after their gone. The last diaper, the last bedtime story, the last walk in a stroller. I brush my own teeth and make my way downstairs.

I have a nightly ritual for checking the doors and windows. You have to make sure everything's locked up in the city. I flip off the television as I pass through the living room and hear the echoes of cartoons and lullabies. In the kitchen, I lock the back door flip off the outside light. My eyes adjust to the dark but if I stare hard enough I can see the pile of leaves in the backyard. It's a perfect jumping pile. As I look up to find the Big Dipper, I hear the laughter. Squeals and giggles and heartfelt belly laughs. Silas was having fun.

I move on to close and lock the dining room windows and flip the light on and off quickly in the laundry room. There's no window in there, but my nightly walk includes all the rooms in the house. I scowl at myself as I pass by the coat closet on my way back to the stairs. There's no window in the coat closet and there's really no reason to check it for intruders. It's not big enough to consider a room. Plus, I hung my coat in there only a few hours ago when I got home from work.

My counselor says that challenging myself to deviate from my routines will eventually help me overcome some of my obsessive behaviors. The temptation to run back down the stairs, start all over, and this time include the closet nearly overwhelms me. But I trudge onward through the upstairs hall.

Silas' room is a yellow, green, and orange safari adventure. Soft light filters out of the elephant nightlight. Overall the room is tidy, except for the unkempt bed where my son slept. A waist-high bookshelf full of bedtime stories and early chapter books doubles as a night stand with a humidifier for Silas' breathing. I sit gently on the bed for a moment, staring into that nightlight. My son's soft wheezing fills my heart with love until I'm ready to leave. I check his window with a quick glance out into the yard below. Nothing unusual lingers or lurks in our backyard. The picnic table and pile of leaves look the same from up here as they did from the kitchen.

I shut the door softly and move on to my wife's home office. The lemony smell of Becca's favorite candle dances around the room but I check and see that the flame is no longer lit. Her desk is messy but I resist the desire to organize and clean it up. The window is already locked so I move on.

Finally, I am back in our bedroom and I lock the door. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and wait for silence to take over the house. It always does eventually: the creaking, the footsteps, and the soft whispers disappear. Tonight is different though. Instead of fading away, the voices, clomping of feet up the stairs, and the eery lullaby melody grow louder. Clearer.

The strange singing in the kitchen is from a woman. The feet stomping up the stairs belong to a child. I jump in confusion when a knock sounds on my door. Silas' voice calls out.

“Daddy, let me in. Mom's got that scary look again, the one where she starts singing that creepy song. Daddy, please let me in!”

I stand up but hesitate in moving towards the door.

“Daddy, please, you promised you wouldn't let her hurt me again!”

I rush forward and open the door. Silas bolts through the door and practically plows me over to get the chair from my desk. As he slams it under the doorknob I drop to my knees and yank him around to look at his face. He has pale blue eyes and high cheekbones. I can barely see him through the tears forming in my eyes, but when I sweep his bangs away from his forehead, I know he is not my son. He is not Silas. The woman singing downstairs is not my Becca.

Silas and Becca have been dead for five years. A tragic accident at an amusement park took them from me while I was working overtime to pay off student loans. But I always hear their echoes. The way I figure it, when you love your wife and son, they dig themselves deep into your heart. Death can't take their sounds, their smells away from you. It can't take their laughter or singing. Their bedtime prayers. Their echoes and memories strewn about the house are as much a part of my ritual as the door locking and window checking.

I don't get the time to wonder further though, as the boy runs to the desk and scoops my phone up. I hardly know what to say or do as he dials 911. A loud bang on the door reminds me that, according to the boy, there's an armed and dangerous woman outside that door. I drag my chifferobe and dresser up to the door without dislodging the chair. Instead of eery singing, the woman is now snarling, spitting obscenities, calling the little boy vile names and making death threats.

I turn back to look at the boy but he's already hanging up the phone. I blink in confusion and he stares back at me. As the door starts making little cracking noises, he rushes over to the window. My bedroom window leads to the roof above the kitchen.

“We can go out this way,” he says. “Come on, she'll kill you if you stay here.”

I follow the boy out the window and onto the roof. The wind is chilly but the recent drought has kept the roof tiles dry. I lead the boy over to the side nearest the detached garage. If we need to make a grand escape, I'd rather go by car than on foot. I help the boy slide to the edge of the roof and lay down on my stomach to lower him to the ground. After he hits the ground safely with a dull thump, I drop myself quickly and start running towards the car.

The boy follows me and I struggle to get my spare key from underneath a loose cobblestone in the path alongside the garage. We rush inside, shut and lock the door. That won't stop whoever she is for long, if she realizes we're out here. Now, I have to throw myself on the garage floor to find the spare car key in it's magnetic box under my bumper. We get in the car and I press the automatic door opener. Scared that the crazy lady is already onto us, I lock the car doors and start creeping towards the garage door as it slowly lifts off the ground. As soon as I can, I slip the car underneath the door and peel out.

I don't see anyone in my rear-view mirror or side mirrors. Hopefully, the maniac was still trying to barge her way into my bedroom. I glance over at the boy who got me into this mess and finally declare, “How the heck did you get into my house? Who are you? Why is there a nut-job breaking down my bedroom door? How did she get into my house!?”

“I'm sorry,” he says. “I was hiding in the coat closet. I snuck in earlier today when I ran away from her. I wasn't gonna steal anything, I swear. I just wanted to borrow a phone but you don't have a landline and I couldn't find a cellphone. When I heard you coming into the house I hid in one of the bedrooms. Your son's bedroom, I guess.”

I'm still lost. Before I can point out that he really hasn't answered any of my questions, he continues.

“I didn't think she'd actually come looking for me. I thought I could wait until you fell asleep, borrow your phone to call the police, then sneak out and find some place to meet the cops.”

Finally, I get a word in. “But who are you? Who is she? I mean I can see why you're running from her but...” I taper off.

“Oh, right, my name's Jack. Sorry, it's been a long time since I've talked to anyone. I live across the street. Well, not really. The lady who lives across the street from you kidnapped me years ago. I've been in her basement. I can see your house from my window. I never had anything to do so when I watched out that window I would pretend to be friends with all the people I could see.” He glances over at me to gauge my reaction and continues. “I kind of pretended you were my Dad.”

When I look over at him, his face is red and I notice he has freckles like Silas used to have. He's about ten, the age Silas would be today. Even in my shock and confusion, I feel bad for the boy. I can't even imagine someone stealing my son and hiding him away in a basement. It was hard enough to lose a son to a known end, let alone never knowing where he is. If he's even alive. “Your parents must be crazy with worry.”

“Yea, my Mom's probably pulled all her hair out by now.”

“What about your Dad?” I wonder aloud.

“He died before I was born,” Jack answers. “Sorry I caused you all this trouble. I don't even know your name and here I go breaking into your house and getting you nearly killed by Nadine. That's her name, by the way. She made me call he Mother but her name is Nadine something.”

“Seth, that's my name, and I'm glad you broke in. I wish I had known you were down there, I would have called the cops.” I give him a small smile to show him I'm not mad at him. “How did she get in my house, though?”

“I don't know. I guess maybe she snuck in before you got to locking all the doors and stuff. When she gets that glassy look in her eyes, she can be very sneaky.

We finally pull into the police parking lot. If any cars had been dispatched to my house, I had not seen them go by us. With how many different roads and routes that could be taken in the city, it's not overly surprising that we missed whoever was headed out to check out Jack's call. When we go in though, it's all paperwork and questions for hours. I'm interviewed by the police; at one point, they go so far as to accuse me of kidnapping Jack. Apparently, the state of my house, which they searched, Jack's statement, and my own statement finally leads them to believe me though. I'm walking out of the interrogation room and heading back to my car, when I see Jack waiting in a chair in the large outer reception area. I walk over and sit down nearby.

“My Mom's on the way. There's going to be all this stuff going on: doctors, news people, cops. But the only thing I can think about is what I'm going to say to my Mom. They said I've been gone for over a year. Do you think she'll remember me? What if she married some guy and had a new son by now?”

We both pause and look up for a moment as Nadine is dragged by in handcuffs. The cop with her looks like he had a rough time subduing her. Bloody lip, black eye. I'm glad I didn't have to fight her off.

“Jack, hey look at me,” I wait for him to comply. “Your Mom has never forgotten you. I'm sure that some things have changed while you were gone but your Mom loves you and that could not have changed no matter how long you were in that basement.”

While I was talking, I didn't notice the young woman come and stand a few feet behind me. “Jack!” She cried. “It really is you!” As she scooped her son into her arms like he was just a toddler, I watched them both burst out in tears and nervous laughter.

I tried to quietly sneak away. While I was happy God had allowed me to play a part in this happy reunion, I wanted to minimize my intrusion into the life and privacy of what are essentially two strangers.

“Seth, wait!” Jack cried out.

I turned and tilted my head as I often do when confused. Before I could figure out what was happening, Jack had ran up and jumped into my arms. He hugged me hard and I couldn't help but hug him back. He had been through quite the ordeal and he reminded me a lot of my own little boy.

“I heard what you told him back there, about how I would never forget him. I can't thank you enough for helping my son escape from that woman. I'm Sarah.”

While I don't know what exactly to say, because I didn't do anything all that special, Jack's Mom asks me to sit with them for a minute. We chat about anything and everything. I find out they are local and that Jack will be going to school at a nearby private school. Sarah hadn't remarried or had any other children. Her baggage of a missing son, like my own baggage, had kept her from the dating scene. While we talked over police station coffee, Jack repeatedly kept looking over at me and giving my a mischievous, knowing grin. Until finally, he came over and whispered in my ear.

“You should ask my Mom out on a date.”

“Maybe we should be friends for awhile first, OK, bud?” I stammered.

Sarah's sweet smile and following laughter reminds me that no one knows a child better than their parents.

Today's writing prompt: As you climb into your bed late at night, someone hurriedly knocks on the bedroom door. “Dad, let me in! Mom's coming, and she's armed! Please, dad! You promised!” You are single without children.

Prompt Source: From the depths of pinterest, unsure of origin