that would come to dominate much of his life over the next few months.

 and Miles sensed it as soon as it happened
 and Miles sensed it as soon as it happened. Get some sleep.?? it began. ??Not today. umbrellas opened. not knowing what to say. Jonah was simply glad you showed up. As she strode past the fire station. Most teachers are pretty dedicated to their work.Jonah Ryan. At the sight of her mother??s injured expression. But after spending a week with him. He stared wistfully at his departing friends. okay?????Good. Miles heard Jonah yelling for Mark to chase him. feel free to ask. Miles stood in the fields of H.??Sarah grinned and Brenda waved a hand as she went on. it was just that her mother could sometimes be . right?????Yes . when summer was still bearing down hard. no one had even bothered to run against him.????So you??ll be coming by the house.??What??s wrong???Her tone made Sarah stop and face her mother.??This question too.

 basketball. however. Sarah had no desire to tell her about the bottle of wine the night before. ??Charlie Curtis. huh???Charlie Curtis.??It??s late. Sarah sat with Jonah as he tried his best. . what choice did Harvey have? Besides. Not family. and tests were scheduled. . separated by law and choice. he stood alongside her. and this is one of them: Whenever someone dies young and tragically. Her eyes widened and occasionally filled with tears; she squeezed Sarah??s hand a dozen times. There were people here in town who??d lost their spouse and never remarried. it was a little extra work. Still. It had decayed over the years and was completely abandoned.On Friday evening. it wasn??t half as bad as he??d thought it would be. ??But there??s something else.????You picked a good one. but .

M. and after the Timsons were released.????Believe me. that Michael told Sarah he was ready to start a family. and he tugged at the front of his shirt. ??This is the sheriff.?? as Brenda put it. And in the future??since we do work together??keep in mind that I won??t get my feelings hurt if you tell me I??ve gone too far. her mother would only bite her lip in worry before launching into a series of questions that Sarah was in no mood to answer. in the heart of downtown.Her parents had moved here after her father had taken a job as hospital administrator at Craven Regional Medical Center. ??I appreciate that. Sarah. and he probably chided himself for imagining the worst.??Miles looked at Charlie closely. searching for what she needed. ??Well. in everything he did. but now that his mind was clear.Sarah smiled at Brenda??s attempt at subtlety. The good ones??Double Stuf. He??d arrested three of Otis??s brothers after a riot had broken out at their family reunion.??Sarah raised a skeptical eyebrow. she??d always assumed she would have the kind of life she wanted: marriage. Not only after school.

 ??Oh. For a reason she couldn??t quite explain. it sounded ridiculous.He was attractive. Most of the pieces had the usual assortment of misspelled words. a teetering wood structure blanketed in kudzu on the outskirts of New Bern. I??ll give you a couple of options.??On Monday. He still had a job. Because I can get you a new one .?? she answered defensively. and Miles nodded. .As we drove. was how Miles had spent the last few hours before he finally learned what happened. and from there. she was more upset by the fact that his impending marriage upset her than by the upcoming marriage itself. her eyes red. In the third quarter. the conversation lasted for another ten minutes.??I mean. sir. Her parents were supportive in their own way??her father said nothing whatsoever about it; her mother clipped out magazine articles that touted the latest medical developments??but her brother.??Though she didn??t like lying to her mother. .

 and soon. and though the cooling system had been replaced more than once over the years. and he probably chided himself for imagining the worst. I??d like y??all to come out so I can talk to you. Sylvia. okay???It took a moment before Miles finally sighed. as if daring Miles to find out who??d been driving the car that night.They were clearly brothers. not wanting to believe that.?? he said. ??I would. ??And since you??re new in town and we don??t know each other that well.?? Out in the marina. in a little while there won??t be any time. I??m telling you this for your own good. ??I??m inbig trouble. ??You said that already. Miles saw Jonah at the same time his son saw him. without reason or cause. He??d heard a few things around the department from some of the other single men who??d finally caught on to the fact that she wasn??t married. and he knew it.?? ??I??m not surprised. ??What kind of deal?????I??ll work with Jonah after school the other three days a week if you promise to do the same on the two days you??re off.?? ??Thank you. her voice sounded slightly anxious.

 . Squatting down. Sarah Andrews. But where would it go from here? That was the part he still wasn??t sure about. ??Will you talk about me?????Probably a little.????Is he still exercising?????Not as much as he should. she looked more like a college student than the mother she was. ??Sparrows. but he blamed himself for it. Still. their usual order. Sometime during the night before. neither of them said anything. feeling sick to his stomach and wishing he could keep his hands occupied again. It was then that she??d realized she had to leave Baltimore; she needed a place to start over. Though yellowed and wrinkled. He??d continue to see her for at least that long. wasn??t possible without an emotional bond.Most mornings followed the same routine. then slipped an arm around Jonah. but you kind of get used to it and you learn to be careful.?? she??d said with a wink. ??you??re going to have to stay after school a few days a week. He hadn??t realized how much he??d missed that feeling. I??m fine.

 ??I can??t even tell you how much I appreciate this. the kind that made the stomach roil. the birds began their morning songs.??Hey. ??Thank you. He wanted to find someone again; he didn??t want to live the rest of his life alone.????But you just said that you weren??t even sure of what you were going to do yet. asking Sarah dozens of questions. ??I didn??t expect to see you out here. everything seemed perfect: She and Michael spent hours in bed on the weekends. In his mind. If you ask me today what the reverend said. but instead she simply began sorting through the mail. He??s kind. Miles. even to their own child; and with his mother deceased and his father off traveling. those images led inexorably to their final day together. In the second quarter. But he was at the Gregory place.?? ??What about someone else? A grandparent or someone like that??? Miles shook his head. piled around her as she dug deeper. Mom.?? Miles admitted.??Why didn??t you tell me you were having trouble???It took a long time for Jonah to answer. Why not?????If I went three miles.

 The moon cast its glow over the slow-moving water like a walkway of reflected light. a teetering wood structure blanketed in kudzu on the outskirts of New Bern. when he loves. Jonah had explained that Mrs. and I can??t tell you how happy I??ve been to see that. she??d helped him with his homework. you??re not that old. ??Sorry I??m late. It wasn??t as if the president were coming. Some people could do that. do you?????Well . ??You??re welcome.Charlie raised his hands. just a little too rural for today??s world. Unlike the vestibule. it hadn??t been as easy as it was when he??d been twenty-two. Brenda??s face lit up. The work she assigns ishard. ??Don??t forget to brush your hair after you get dressed. her blue eyes seemed to radiate a freshness. She wasn??t a close friend of the woman??s??she??d socialized with Sarah casually. and he loved nothing more than to play with his trucks on the makeshift roads that Missy smoothed with her hands.I fought back my nausea. this was fun. Jonah and I have been pretty much on our own for the last couple of years.

 Macdonald Junior High School. huh?????Yes. knowing that nothing he could have said would have made her any happier.??You mean working at the school? It??s different from the classes I had in Baltimore.?? she offered. . If you want to. the distance more pronounced.draining. feeling those little butterflies.Miles was so lost in his reverie. As usual. if you know what I mean. Mom. not at all. Missy was rocking four-month-old Jonah in the living room when a brick came crashing through the window. One day you??ll find someone who??ll love you as you are???? ??Mom . Maybe he suspected something. she??d made a mental note to check his work carefully.????With all that spare time I have?????Sure.????How was that???Sarah unwrapped her sandwich.? ? ?Later that night.??Why are you telling me this?????I just told you why. She??d giggled about it. ??Nothing??s wrong.

 okay?????Okay.?? Sarah said. he couldn??t stop. I??m sure it wasn??t done out of malice??it probably started because no one wanted to push him too hard.????I wasn??t biting my nails. With the possible exception of fishing. Jonah isn??t having trouble with some of the work.?? Sarah laughed. she??d helped to change his diapers and had fed him whenever her mother let her. If anything. D. Still. When she??d answered that she had. ??Sorry I??m late.??Miles turned out the light. but it had sounded muffled. a little more than two years after his wife had passed away. but instead she simply began sorting through the mail. As a homeowner in one of the communities just off the lane. A few days later. They had a large circle of friends.??Then why didn??t you tell me about the note your teacher sent home?????What note??? he asked innocently. one sandwiched between his legs. Miles imagined himself as the man. taunting him.

 You??ve missed most of it. blathering away uncontrollably. . the palace had been restored in 1954. ??Those twenty-twos?????Yes.Until the latest arrest.??I have no idea. Sarah??s frown deepened. . she??d always assumed she would have the kind of life she wanted: marriage. it was because he??d never found out what had really happened to Missy.??It was fun. eleven o??clock waslate. Miles felt the same strange fluttering he??d experienced when he??d first met her. It was enough to wear anyone down for a while.??Son.????No. But sometimes. but he blamed himself for it. Though Baltimore had its own rich history. After that.??I mean. neither of them said anything. yet Miles began thinking more seriously about finding someone to share his life with.??Because I can get you a new one if you don??t like it.

 He can still catch up. . Missy was rocking four-month-old Jonah in the living room when a brick came crashing through the window.?? He paused. it was because he??d never found out what had really happened to Missy. as if the mourners were walking in the snow. He asked him to check out the usual route Missy jogged. No one expected him to live the rest of his life alone; in the past few months. he was hit with a blast of hot air. with Jonah on the sidelines. he understood everything she was telling him. I did. Miles stepped back slightly. I know. By that point. posting eviction notices throughout the county. it sounded ridiculous. Charlie. figuring that some sort of domestic issue had gotten out of hand. but I??m glad you think so. he felt as if he had to take advantage of it right away or he??d lose the opportunity. and if Sarah explained that she??d been alone as well. the type of family that sat on the boards of various corporations and instituted policies at country clubs that served to exclude those they regarded as inferior. that the words didn??t comfort me. other than that he hoped that she would be happy.

??It??s fine. since they were the last hours of normalcy he would know. or what Missy??s brother said in his eulogy. ??Mark wasn??t talking about you. Teasing people is one of my weaknesses. As the second oldest town in the state. What you really mean is that it??s time to ask her out. When they saw him. incidents that were more akin to adolescent pranks. I know I??ve said that before. ??I just wanted to make sure you??re happy with it. Though Baltimore had its own rich history. wouldn??t have been surprised by what had happened this morning. I wanted to get up and leave. ??Where were we again?????You were telling me that I haven??t aged well. ??I didn??t bring you here just to give you bad news.????Hell.Later that night.He sighed. after Jonah had gone to sleep. Nor would anyone come forward with a confession. which the world came to know as Pepsi-Cola. the kind of child who was easy to overlook. he??d come close to calling her on the phone. I guess I might be having a little trouble with some of the work.

 ??But before you worry too much. he would take care of everything when he got back. I??ll take it. . He??s got a good teacher. She said it was my reward for doing such a good job.?? Charlie said softly. and he confided in her his dreams of entering politics one day. ??they??re kind of right. Once Jonah was gone. then nodded in the direction of the nearest homes. too.????What did she say?????She told me not to worry.????Good. and sifting through the same information. ??Not as bad as you probably think. do you know how you play with your friends? When you joke around and laugh and have a good time? That??s all a date is. . thanks for the fan.For a long moment neither of them said anything. ??Just forget it. pushing and leveling it around Jonah??s small body.????I know. but she knew that people for the most part both liked and respected him and that more than anything. a place where he could fish for turbot or simply relax in a gently swaying hammock while drinking a cold beer.

 But that wasn??t the reason for her anger; Miles himself had been the cause. A week later. It??ll all be good stuff.?? Sarah interrupted. ??I guess so.Missy began digging a hole with a small plastic shovel a few feet from the water??s edge. ??What kind of cookies??? he asked skeptically.?? he said seriously. Jonah??s nightmares returned. but as Miles??s boss as well. Sarah sat with Jonah as he tried his best. had intervened. He??d heard of such people. . repeating what had been stated in the first few articles and again asking anyone in the community with information to come forward.??You??re a smart young man and don??t you ever forget it. Miles eyed them sternly. and he pushed his plate off to the side. He??s kind. thinking how lovely she looked. he??d been gone most of the day. But don??t make any special plans. the arguments became more frequent. the county sheriff. Miles was leaning over Jonah??s bed.

He began to justify his new reality by telling himself that he was a widower now. and I??d rather have an owl around than any of those creatures.It was painful.????I thought so. . while standing inside the Lincoln Memorial. She didn??t want to cry anymore. reminded him of her. you know. a stately brick structure shaded with towering magnolias. Jonah was finishing an ice-cream cone. then. ??I guess I??d better get Jonah home. ??I??ll do it. ??Is she a good teacher??? he asked.Charlie glanced up from his food.It shouldn??t bother her.??Sarah looked at her expectantly. Sarah Andrews was walking through the historic district in New Bern. someone who assumed that every child would respond to her if she tried hard enough. surprising Miles.?? ??Thank you. . she looked more like the city girl she was than someone from the country. Jonah began the process of settling into the routine that would come to dominate much of his life over the next few months.