Find Wonder in All Things - By Karen M. Cox Page 0,20

curiosity, and he had to force himself not to stare at her. Beverly Elliot was tall like Laurel, but that was the only physical trait they shared. Her hair was a mousy brown, streaked with gray and pulled back into a severe ponytail that reached down her back. Her nondescript hazel eyes had a flat, empty look to them, and her mouth was drawn into a thin, humorless line. James wondered how this woman could have birthed the beautiful, colorful creature sitting beside him, covertly holding his hand under the table. He tried to formulate what he thought Mrs. Elliot would deem an appropriate answer to her question. “I’m grateful for the work, ma’am. It will help me a lot with school expenses.”

Mrs. Elliot simply looked at him.

“James is going to the University of Dayton, Mama,” Laurel explained patiently. She gifted him with an adoring smile. “He’s studying business.”

“How do you study business?” Mrs. Elliot looked genuinely confused. “Business is something you do” — She cast a fleeting look at her husband — “or not, as the case may be.”

Mr. Elliot seemed not to notice his wife’s subtle criticism. “Education is a fine thing for a young person to pursue, Beverly, as long as the knowledge gained is used to better the world.” He put a forkful of chicken in his mouth and chewed for several seconds while the others waited for him to finish his thought. Finally, he went on, “I think I saw a copperhead today — didn’t get close enough to tell for sure though.”

Dylan and Crosby clamored to hear all about his close encounter with the snake, and much to James’s relief, the conversation shifted away from him. Over the next several minutes, he discovered that in this family the threads of discussion changed with startling rapidity due to Mr. Elliot’s abrupt introduction of obscure topics. James sometimes had trouble keeping up although Mr. Elliot seemed content to pontificate without anyone responding. Laurel chimed in on occasion, and Spring sat looking at her empty plate, listening but saying nothing. She was a chubby little thing with mousy brown hair and hazel eyes like her mother. Mrs. Elliot eyed James blankly throughout the meal. It was almost bizarre — the way she was there but not really there. It was impossible for James to tell whether she liked him or not, or whether she even cared who her daughter had been dating all summer. He understood now why Laurel had taken so long to bring him home with her. He hadn’t thought it was possible, but her family was even stranger than his was.

After dinner, James took his plate to the sink because his mom always complimented his friends when they did that. Dylan and Crosby took off on their fishing expedition, and Laurel and her dad washed up the dishes, declining his offer to help. After trying several times to start a conversation with Laurel’s mom, he sat in silence on the couch. Mrs. Elliot was working on some knitting, but in a few minutes, with an agitated sigh, she got up and left the room. He didn’t see her again before they left the Elliot’s house.

* * *

The pickup truck rolled to a stop on the state park playground. Laurel parked away from the street lamp so as not to draw attention and turned off the engine. They both sat for a second, she looking down at her lap, he looking across the seat at her. But then, she raised her eyes to his, and suddenly they were in each other’s arms, kissing. He pulled her close. She shifted until she was on top of him, with a knee on either side of his hips, grinding against him as he slid his hands all over her. After a time that seemed both too short and almost too long, he made himself stop. She leaned her warm trembling body against his while he stroked her hair and down her back in a soothing motion. Each time they did this, he came closer to losing control of the situation, and it worried him. He had never felt quite this way about a girl before — protective one minute and predatory the next.

Laurel had an intellectual understanding of the birds and bees, of course, but that was different from exploring the nest and the hive up close and personal. She was both an eager student and a quick learner, and what troubled him was that he repeatedly found