The Fourth Sunrise by H. T. Night Read Free Book Online Page A

reached over and plucked the cheese out of her bangs. I brushed up against her forehead with my fingertips when I did so. Christine kept her eyes closed much longer than five seconds.
    “ Then she did something that surprised me even more when I nicked her forehead. She said, ‘Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.’ Then she opened her eyes.
    “‘ Wow, you trusted me six times longer than you had to.’
    “‘ That’s about right,’ Christine said.
    “‘ What is?’ I asked.
    “‘ My leap.’
    “‘ What leap?’
    “‘ My leap in thinking that you are a really great guy.’
    “‘ It’s a leap?’
    “‘ Of course it is.’
    “‘ But you think I’m a great guy?’
    “‘ So far I do,’ Christine stated.
    “‘ Only my mom talks that way about me.’
    “‘ I doubt that. You seem like a real sweet guy.’
    “‘ Maybe my grandma thinks that highly of me, but you three are rare,’ I teased.
    “‘ What are your parents like?’ Christine asked, staring intently at me.
    “‘ Well, my mom is probably the most caring woman I have ever known.’
    “‘ How so?’
    “‘ She loves all children as God’s children. I mean there are people who say that, but my mom lives it. She runs youth camps and her one mission is for each kid who comes into contact with her is for them to know they are loved.’
    “‘ You really love her,’ Christine said with a giant smile across her face.
    “‘ Of course I do. She is my mom.’
    “‘ It’s more than that. You love her for who she is as a person. Not just because she gave birth to you.’
    “ I thought about it and said, ‘My mom is the most amazing person I know.’
    “‘ I hope someday my kids feel that way about me. Your mom is very lucky that you recognize that and don’t take it for granted.’
    “ I stared at Christine and was impressed with her insight. I liked what she had to say… a lot.
    “‘ What about your dad?’ Christine asked.
    “‘ He is tougher nut to crack.’
    “‘ Why is that?’
    “ Raising seven kids takes a lot out of man in the sense of how hard he works to put food on the table. He’s a janitor at the local elementary school. He puts in a lot of double shifts.’
    “‘ Is he a good man, too?’
    “ I thought about my dad and a tear started to roll from my left eye.
    “‘ I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?’ Christine asked, seeing that a question about my dad obviously made me more emotional than a question about my mom.
    “‘ No, you said nothing wrong. My dad is a good man. He’s the best kind of man there is. He is there for his family. He might not be the happiest guy in the world, but he is faithful to his wife and children.’
    “ It was time to throw some of these highly emotional questions in her direction.
    “‘ What about your parents? What are they like?’
    “‘ They’re old.’
    “‘ Old? All parents are old.’ I laughed.
    “‘ Mine are really old. My mom had me when she was 42 and my dad was 50.’
    “‘ Wow. They are old.’
    “‘ It was like being raised by grandparents.’
    “‘ That isn’t such a bad thing.’
    “‘ No, it isn’t. My parents are fantastic people in their own right.’
    “‘ They must be.’
    “‘ Why?’
    “‘ They produced you. Better late than never.’
    “‘ You’re cute,’ Christine said to me.
    “‘ I’m not aiming for cute.’
    “‘ What are you aiming for?’
    “‘ I don’t know… maybe…knight in shining armor status.’
    “‘ Oh, you are a long way from that.’
    “‘ Even after I was the only person in two hours to knock down all those bowling pins with a softball? I did it twice. And I did it completely on the spot.’
    “‘ That was extraordinary. Don’t get me wrong. That was one of niftiest things I have ever witnessed. But a knight in shining armor status is even out of your reach.’
    “‘ Why?’ I asked pretending to be hurt.
    “‘ Unless the Queen knighted you recently, it’s