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I realized belatedly he’d changed into jeans and boots How observant of me I didn’t want to just ride away, but bikes and horsespartners He didn’t seem in a hurry to retrieve his horse

"Did you follow me?" I didn’t like the peevish tone inskills or Marine recon to figure it out, Josie" His face was serious despite his sarcasone" He waited a few beats "You didn’t answer , but it was persistent

"I really didn’t think it was any of your business…" I flushed at ood at confrontation, and any tiround, but cried later in ly participated in, but Samuel raised my ire Most people stayed ahen someone went to a ceht in and askedto understand you" He said it point blank

I just shook my head in wonder "Yes I loved him I miss him" My breath huffed out in exasperation "That’s why I’m here - to visit him, you know?"

"But he’s not here" Samuel was emphatic "He’s never been here Not since his death, anyway"

I desperately needed chocolate cake Now Or I was going to scream and pull my hair out Or scream and pull Saritting my teeth

"Why are you here, Samuel?" I crossed my arms and thrust my chin at him defensively "I mean…why did you come back to Levan after all this time? It’s been seven years…and here you are I’ain, but…what’s the point? You know? You’ll be gone soon"

"My grandparents are getting old I wanted to see them" Samuel cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at me "Didn’t you think I’d ever coht you would co? I !" Nohere had that come from! I flushed and held my hands to my cheeks, mortified Since I had seen Samuel in the rain I didn’t know myself This was the second ti without thinking, reacting totally on emotion

"I still have the letters you sent me," Samuel offered softly

"I wrote so ain I didn’t seem to be able to curb my impulse to just tell him whatever came into my head "But when you carowna fool of myself" My voice faded off aardly, and I tuckedoff, al "Even at boot ca to you, but I couldn’t help it, not then I needed you tooback to , and the feelings between us were too intense I found irl Then I would re you were, and I would be ashamed of myself One ofto show him a picture of you I hadn’t talked about you, but you were the only one I ever got letters fro, nineteen years old, writing letters to a 14-year-old girl I knew it couldn’t be good for you You needed to grow up and so did I I had things I had to do, and I did theht maybe it was time to come back"

The way he said this made it sound like I was part of the reason he had returned, and rew dry I cleared my throat, "And when you leave? What then?" I wasn’t sure what I wanted hiain

He looked at , and I cursedwith ain and hated that he coulds to keep it out of the spokes He re me I didn’t look back as I rode away

15 Parody

The followingshoes, slipping onmy hair up in a ponytail I took a forkful of chocolate cake, chugged down so on the mat in front of the door was a thick manila envelope Written across it in neat caps, someone had written ‘JOSIE’ I picked it up and turned it over It was heavy, and I tested it in my hands curiously I had ordered some piano books for some new students, but this wasn’t addressed or post, or ht

Curiously, I peeled the seal and pulled out the contents Inside were stacks of sealed legal sized white envelopes, all withas the writing on the front of theand pulled one out Turning it over, I saw a date written across the back: 8-19-1999 I pulled out another one Another date was scrawled across the back Swiftly, I pulled out all the letters, finding the to their date Suddenly, I knehat they were The first date was June 5, 1999, about a year after Samuel left Levan