Waiting for Dusk Read Free

a
scream.
    “Yes, from the henhouse. I will go with you.
Here take this basket.”
    At the last moment someone called Anna away,
and Katie had to head outdoors on her own. She opened the door and
looked around. Straight back from the hotel, across the road from
where Mr. Johansson had dropped them off, was a henhouse and a
barn. She hadn’t noticed them earlier. The area was all fenced off
and she couldn’t find a gate. Kate clumsily climbed over the fence,
thankful no one was watching.
    Entering the henhouse she thought, I can
do this. Hens sit on eggs and all I have to do is stick my hand
under them and I should hit the jackpot.
    Katie stared down her first subject. The hen
did not seem too scary. She spoke softly to it. “Thank you, Mrs.
Hen.”
    Reaching out her hand, she slid it under the
hen and found two eggs. She continued on, having success and
sometimes none, slowly filling the basket and trying to decide if
there were enough eggs to satisfy Miss Betsy.
    “Well, maybe just one more.” She stared the
last hen down, then reached in. That time the hen was not going to
cooperate. It squawked and pecked away at her, then flew up and off
the nest. That was more than Katie could take.
    She ran out of the henhouse, climbed the
fence and fell to the ground, always remembering to balance the egg
basket carefully. She lay on her back by the side of the fence and
laughed. Then she got very quiet. Did I hear another laugh?
    Katie sat up and looked around. “Who’s
there?”
    “Over here,” the voice said.
    Katie glanced over at the hotel, and leaning
against the wall in the shadows was a boy about her age. She got up
and walked toward him. She’d show him. Who was he to laugh at her?
Look at all the eggs in this basket. I didn’t break one during my
getaway.
    The closer she got to him, the more clearly
she saw him. He wasn’t a boy but almost a man. The cliché, ‘tall,
dark and handsome’ fit him. His dark brown, wavy hair was long on
the top, and shorter on the sides. A strand of hair fell into his
eyes. His eyes sparkled and locked onto hers. Her legs felt like
mush, and she stumbled. He reached out and caught her.
    “Are you okay?” his voice was kind,
concerned.
    Katie tried to gain her composure. “Yes, yes.
Are you one of the vacationers? Because if you are, I shouldn’t be
talking to you. It’s against the rules.” Rules? What am I thinking?
It’s my dream after all.
    “No. No I’m not. I work here at the park
doing an internship. My name is Andrew, by the way. Andrew
Martin.”
    “I’m Kathryn, but everyone calls me
Katie.”
    Andrew’s brows crossed. “Katie doesn’t seem
to suit you. I think I shall call you Kate.”
    Katie thought Andrew was a little full of
himself, deciding a new name for her.
    “Then I shall call you Drew,” she shot
back.
    “Drew, it is then!”
    Kate found him charming. He had a strong
laugh and a beautiful smile. It was hard not to stare at
him—something she was good at, according to her mother. She felt
she would never get tired of staring at him. She wanted to reach
out and brush back the piece of hair that fell over his
forehead.
    Katie blinked and brought herself back to
earth. “I need to get these eggs into the kitchen.”
    “By all means, don’t let me hold you up. It
was very nice to meet you, Kathryn, Kate.”
    “And you, too, Andrew...Drew.” Katie started
for the door.
    “Kate. Are you staying at the boarding house
by chance?”
    “Yes. Yes, I am,” She blushed and went
inside. “Here are the eggs!” she called out to anyone who would
listen.
    Anna came running up and took them from her.
“You were gone a long time but I covered for you.”
    The workday finally ended and Mr. Johansson
was waiting in the Buick when the girls came out after their shift.
“Have a good day, girls? Meet anyone special?” he chuckled as he
said it.
    “Now, Mr. Johansson,” said Lucinda. “You know
our goal is to become servers in the dining room first and