Moon Shadow: The Totally True Love Adventure Series (Volume 1) Read Free

daily. Not to mention the fluctuating weather conditions unlike anything we’ve ever known. It can only end with a horrific collision, but none of us will be around by then to see it.”
    I haven’t been giving this moon thing much thought, but Mr. Christie is probably right. News reports on the moon’s changing orbit, the fact of its slowly spiraling towards earth, and interviews with leading scientists, like England’s Stephen Hawking, have been going viral since CNN broke the story last month. “I’m sure something will be done, sir, before the problem gets too far out of hand,” I reply.
    “You have more confidence in our species than I do, Daniel. Take nothing for granted, I always say. Now what about that game of chess we planned ages ago? I haven’t forgotten how you trapped my queen with your knight and ended my middle attack.”
    Mr. Christie rises and saunters into the house. After a minute or two I hear the sweet sound of a female voice with orchestral accompaniment. It’s Puccini’s “O Mio Babino Caro,” emanating softly from the two stereo speakers that hang above the patio.
    As I listen to the lovely aria, my eyes focus on Rattlesnake Mountain in the distance. I begin to imagine that I am able to see the congressman’s house (The Gables) clearly, and that I am able to look into a window and watch as my mother folds her clothes and places them in her suitcase, preparing to leave my father. She seems aware somehow that I’m watching her. In this absurd daydream it appears that I have found the courage, before it is too late, to tell Mr. Christie the truth about the congressman. Mr. Christie then convinces my mother to come to his cottage in Suncrest, where the three of us can live contentedly—
    My reverie is broken as Mr. Christie returns with the chessboard and pieces. I stand quickly and move the card table, placing it between our chairs. We arrange the pieces on the playing board. As I contemplate the real purpose of my visit, there’s an uncomfortable measure of silence. Then I find myself blurting, nervously, “Were you in love with my mother, sir?”
    Mr. Christie raises his eyes and calmly looks at me. He reclines and draws reflectively on his pipe, the outer bowl of which is carved into the likeness of the head of Zeus. Clouds of smoke drift upwards with a sudden liveliness. Mr. Christie’s thicket of white curly hair takes on a jaunty look, as if it has not yet learned to grow old.
    By all indications, the squinting of his heavy-browed eyes, the smacking of his fleshy lips on the stem of the pipe, and the slow recurring nod of his head, Mr. Christie is about to embark on a statement of profound importance.
    And so he begins, “The loss of a loved one, my dear Daniel, should cause us to strive the harder to rejoin her in that World-to-Be—and to be worthy to stand in her saintly presence. Your mother and I comforted one another from time to time, and if that is called love, then so be it. I have nothing more to say about ...”
    Mr. Christie’s voice trails off, and a pensive melancholy seems to overtake him. He reaches out and gently presses my hand. “Your grief cries out to me, from your tender heart, Danny Boy. Know that my eternal friendship is sincerely offered.”
    The smooth intonations of Mr. Christie’s voice pacify me. “Thank you, sir,” I say, and after a brief pause, I add, “It’s not only sorrow I feel about my mother’s death, but anger as well, towards my father.”
    “Your father put an end to my friendship with your mother, God rest her restless soul. But she loved him dearly.”
    “Mr. Christie, I want to go home. The congressman, strangely, has asked me to come home, but I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. My savings are gone. Going home may help me get Liz back. But I want to go home for an entirely different reason.” I clear my throat and continue, “I want to know why my mother ... of blessed memory ... well ... took her own life. I