Page 7 (1/2)

Chapter Five

The next few days were intense for Shana She insisted on driving Jaz line of parents dropping off their kids at the grade school If Jazmine appreciated her efforts to build a rapport between theave no indication of it The irl had been after Monday’s lengthy telephone conversation with her uncle Adam

Shana, her aunt, a blood relative, was simply Shana, but Adam Kennedy, family friend, was Uncle Adam The uncle part was uttered with near-reverence

Okay, so she was jealous Shana adround with her niece, Jazmine droned on about this interloper

Tuesday afternoon, the school bus again let Jazed herself into the shop, as though it dey just to open the door Then she’d slipped onto one of the barstools and lain her head on her folded arms

Wednesday afternoon, Shana watched the school bus approach and the doors glide open Sure enough, Jazmine was there, but this time she leaped off the bus and hurried toward the restaurant

Shana stopped and stared No, it couldn’t be But it was Jazht of it, nothing see, either

The instant Jazot your backpack" It probably would’ve been better to keep her mouth shut and let Jazmine tell her, but she’d been too shocked

"I know" Jazmine dumped her backpack on the floor and hopped onto the barstool with a Bugs Bunny bounce, planting her elbows on the counter "Can I have some ice cream?"

Taken aback, Shana blinked "Who are you and what have you done with hed and reached for the ice-creaum and strawberry" She paused, her face momentarily serious "Oh--and thank you"

"You’re welco over the freezer, Shana rolled the hard ice creaenerous ball "Well," she said when she couldn’t stand it any longer "The least you can do is tell led like the nine-year-old she was "I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I was pretty upset Monday afternoon"

"Really," Shana said, playing duround One of them distracted me, and the other ran off with er As Jazirls’ names and addresses She’d personally see to it that they were marched into the principal’s office and repriht, their parents should be summoned to the school for a confrontation with the authorities Perhaps it would be best to bring in the police, as well

"How’d you get it back?" Shana had given up scooping ice crea htened her shoulders and grinned "Uncle Adam told me I should talk to them"

Wasn’t that brilliant Had she been asked, Shana would’ve told Jaz

"He said I should tell them it was really unfortunate, but it didn’t seeet to know them" This was uttered in the softest, sweetest tones Shana had ever heard froirl

"They fell for it?"

Jazht they were losers but they’re actually pretty cool I think they just wanted to see what I carried around with me"

Frankly Shana was curious herself

"Once they looked inside, they illing to give it back"

"You’re not ?"

Jaz under her breath, Shana dipped the scoop into the blue bubblegu, but intent on her task, Shana didn’t raise her head

"I’ll have some of that myself," a male voice said

"Uncle Adam!" Jazmine shrieked Her niece whirled around so fast she nearly fell off the stool

Hearing his nalance up She did just in time to watch Jazmine throw her arms around a man dressed casually in slacks and a shirt From the top of his military haircut to the bottom of his feet, this man was Navy, with or without his uniforrabbed hold of hi Fro stranger e

"Youbroadly at Shana