Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) by John A. Heldt Read Free Book Online Page B

and Mary Beth talk and laugh like they had been friends for years and not acquaintances for hours. She was happy to see her sister finally emerge from her self-imposed social exile.
    "Mary Beth?" Piper asked.
    Mary Beth peered over her left shoulder.
    "Yes?"
    "Are you ever going to tell me what you bought at the bookstore?"
    Mary Beth smiled.
    "I bought books."
    Piper looked at Ben and shook her head.
    "I asked a simple question."
    Ben laughed and then resumed looking out his window.
    Piper returned to Mary Beth.
    "Well? Are you going to tell me what books you bought?"
    Mary Beth nodded.
    "I'll do better than that. I'll show you."
    Mary Beth leaned forward, ruffled through a paper bag, and retrieved three thin paperback books. She turned around and handed them to her sister.
    Piper placed the books on her lap. She thumbed through Marilyn: Her Life in Letters, Old Las Vegas , and Sports Champions from 1876 to 2016 .
    "Why did you buy these?" Piper asked.
    Mary Beth shifted in her seat so that she could see the occupants in back without straining her neck. She looked at Ben and then Piper.
    "I bought the first book to learn about my favorite actress and the second to learn about our destination."
    "What about the third book?"
    Mary Beth grinned.
    "I bought it to finance our trip."
    "What?" Piper asked.
    "I'm betting on the Bears tonight. California plays West Virginia in the final of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I know who wins."
    "You're insane."
    Mary Beth laughed.
    "I like to think of myself as imaginative."
    "Where are you going to make the bet?" Ben asked.
    "I hope to make it at a turf club," Mary Beth said. "Your brother says there are dozens in Las Vegas and that most take sports bets."
    Ben leaned forward and tapped Mark's shoulder.
    "How do you know that?"
    "I'm in college, remember? That's the kind of thing you learn in college," Mark said. He looked over his right shoulder and smiled. "You'll learn things in college too."
    Piper laughed. She didn't doubt that. People learned all sorts of things in college. They got in all sorts of trouble. It was one reason she looked forward to her freshman year at Tennessee.
    Piper handed the books back to Mary Beth and settled into her seat as the chatty couple in front went back to chatting. She thought about the books, Las Vegas, and college for several minutes before turning her attention to the mystery man at her left.
    Ben had not returned to staring blankly out his window. He rested his chin on his hand and gazed at Piper in a way that made her uncomfortable.
    "Why are you staring at me?" Piper asked.
    "I'm not staring," Ben said. He grinned. "I'm observing."
    "Well, observe something else. I don't like it when people stare at me."
    Ben laughed but didn't say anything.
    Piper turned away and pulled her cell phone from her purse. She flipped it on, tapped a few buttons, and accessed an app. She decided she would much rather complete a crossword puzzle than talk to Eddie Haskell.
    "What are you doing?" Ben asked.
    "I'm playing a game," Piper said.
    "I thought that was a telephone."
    "It is. It's a telephone loaded with games."
    "What else does it have?"
    Piper looked up from the phone and glared at Ben.
    "It has a lot of things."
    "Does it contain a lot of numbers?" Ben asked.
    "It does."
    "Does it contain a lot of numbers from boys ?"
    "That's none of your business," Piper said.
    "Sure it is. I need to know what I'm up against."
    "Dream on."
    "You like me," Ben said. "I know you do."
    "You presume a lot."
    "What's your phone number?"
    "Why? Are you going to call me?"
    "I might."
    Piper laughed.
    "If you could manage that in 1959, I might answer your call."
    Ben fixed his gaze.
    "I'm serious though. What's your number?"
    Piper told him.
    "That's amazing," Ben said.
    "What's amazing?"
    "Your number is my birth date."
    "That's impossible," Piper said. "My number has ten digits."
    "You misunderstand. The last seven digits are my birth date," Ben said. "The area code –