Summer Sanctuary Read Free Page A

white jogging shoes. When our eyes met, I said, “Oh, hi.” I hoped she couldn’t hear my heart pounding.
    â€œHi, Matthew,” she replied. She sat down on the bench beside me, but not too close. I waited. Today she was going to have to do more of the talking.
    â€œSo,” she said, looking me up and down, “you must have gotten all of your chores done early.”
    â€œYeah. You were sure in a hurry yesterday. Everything okay?” I asked.
    â€œSure.” She slipped her backpack off her shoulder and let it drop to the bench. It was every bit as full as it was yesterday, maybe even packed fuller. “I just had someplace else I had to be.” Then she turned toward me, kind of hiding the backpack behind her.
    â€œWhat about today? Is there someplace else you have to go?”
    â€œMaybe,” she replied. “What about you?”
    â€œI don’t have to be home until 3:00.” There was an awkward pause. “Do you want to share my lunch with me?”
    â€œMaybe. What’s for lunch?” she asked.
    â€œLet’s see what my mom packed today,” I said, rummaging through my backpack and pulling out a brown bag. I peered inside. “How do you feel about half a peanut butter sandwich, half a banana, and some pretzels?”
    â€œI’d like that,” she said. “But let’s not eat it here. Let’s have a picnic by the trees behind the library.” She was on her feet instantly. “Come on.”
    I’d never had lunch with a girl before. I liked the idea of a picnic where no one could see us. I mean, what if Mom or Dad drove by? Or someone from the church? They’d want to know who she was. I wouldn’t know what to tell them. Not that I was doing anything wrong. I got the feeling she really didn’t want to be seen, either.
    â€œHow about right here?” she asked, settling in under the shade of a large maple tree.
    â€œOkay,” I said. There were lots of reddish-brown propellers all over the place—little helicopters to carry the maple seeds away in the wind. I plopped myself down right on top of them, Indian style. I’d never been back there before. I wasn’t really sure if we were supposed to be there, but at least there was nobody else around. “So are you ever going to tell me your name?” I ventured.
    â€œThat all depends,” she said very matter-of-factly. “Have you told anyone about me or asked anybody else anything about me?”
    â€œNo,” I answered. I was relieved that I hadn’t. I wanted to solve this mystery on my own.
Would I have told Kyle if he were here
?
    â€œThat’s good,” she said. “If you tell anyone about me, I’ll be gone. You’ll never see me again.”
    Somehow I could tell she wasn’t kidding. “Well, I won’t tell anyone then,” I offered.
    She stared at me a long time. I felt my palms getting sticky again. I wiped them on my khaki shorts. “Okay,” she said finally. “I think I believe you, Matthew. My name is Dinah.”
    â€œDinah,” I whispered under my breath. The name danced around and lingered in my mouth like the bubbles from an ice-cold Mountain Dew. “Are you hungry, Dinah?” I asked. I knew she was. I knew that’s how I got her back here all to myself. But what did I really know about hunger? I knew if she weren’t hungry, she never would have noticed me, let alone told me her name.
    â€œSure. Let’s eat.” She pulled a beat-up water bottle out of her backpack and chugged down half of it while I divided up my lunch.
    â€œIt’s creamy peanut butter,” I advised her. “Some people only like crunchy.”
    â€œAnd some people are allergic to peanuts,” she teased. “I like creamy best,” she assured me.
    â€œMe, too,” I nodded, except I didn’t. I liked crunchy. But there was never any crunchy peanut butter at our