“It’s so nice to meet you. Jeff and Greg have been talking all about you.”

My face turned beet red as Mr. Joel took a cup of tea from my mom. Dad had invited the Joel’s inside to discuss things over dinner and a cup of tea. We moved from the dining room to the living room with the adults sitting on the sofa and loveseat. Wendy and Anna stood beside their parents. I stood on the other side side with my parents and Colleen.

“We are quite fond of young Jeffrey ourselves.”

“He is a remarkably kind and gentle boy. Maybe he could inspire others,” Mrs. Joel said while looking at Wendy.

Wendy quickly shook her head, smiling the whole time.

“What can we do about Hank, sir?” My dad asked as he sat across the table from Mr. Joel.

“It is a quandary, really and I am saddened how his father has let him down. Now, young Colleen, she has a good heart.” Colleen looked at Mr. Joel who held his cup up to her. “It is absolute that Hank will not forgive this day.”

“I don’t think Ben and Sylvia will be inviting us over for a barbecue any time soon,” mom said as she took a sip from her cup.

“Maybe they’ll come around,” my dad replied.

“There’s always hope to find a spark of hope in everybody.”

“My left foot,” Anna said with just a hint of sarcasm. Dad smiled at the comment but then became serious when Mr. Joel looked Anna.

“Greg told me you were a fighter pilot?”

“Indeed, Miss Patricia, I was a member of the Royal Flying Corps.”

“And how did the two of you meet?” Mom asked as she shook her fingers at The Joels.

“Ah, my dearest can tell that tale with so much splendor than I ever could muster.”

“Here it comes,” Wendy whispered.

“Don’t forget to mention the peach pie, mom,” Anna commented as she tapped her hands on the table.

Miss Joel ignored her daughters and laid her folded her arms on the table.

“I met this angelic man after I finished work at a café in Georgia. He still has the eyes I fell in love with his fiery hair and his manners. I was about to leave when he walked in, walked over to me, kissed my hand, and said we will spend eternity together. I was taken aback, as we had just met.

How could he just say we would spend eternity together.”

“Here it comes,” Anna muttered.

I saw my dad give a slight nod, but he stopped abruptly.

“We say down for a slice of peach pie. A pie I had made just before leaving work. He dove into it, looked at it and then at me and said he had tasted the heaven, but never something as heavenly as that pie in front of him.” Mr. Joel took ahold of Miss Joel’s hand as she continued. “He said he would never let anything happen to me again and I didn’t give it a second thought.”

“How long have you been married?” Mom asked.

“For all time,” Mr. Joel answered.

I looked at Colleen and she abruptly turned away from me, only to look back again.

I turned to Wendy who nodded and smiled, which caused Colleen to laugh.

The adults and Anna turned to Colleen.

“Ahh, the sound of laughter, we all needed to hear that,” Mr. Joel said, and he laughed a bit as well, causing everyone in the room to laugh as well.

There was a knock on the door and everyone stopped talking.

I walked to the door and without any hesitation I unlocked and opened the door, thinking nothing of it at the time. The door swung open and a hand shoved me back onto the staircase. All eyes turned to the door as Hank stomped inside, turned the gun towards the living room and fired!

The blast was deafening that I could not hear any of the screams, including my own.Time slowed down as I spun to see Mr. Joel and Mrs. Joel shielding my parents and Anna and Wendy standing in front of Colleen.

Hank took a step towards the living room and fired again! His aim more towards Mrs. Joel and Anna, but the buckshot cut through everything. I didn’t look back to the living room but instead leaped onto Hank’s back. I knew I was never going to bring him down, but if I could get the gun out of his hand and prevent him from reloading it, that would have been a win in my book. I wrapped my hands around his neck and held on tight.

Hank dropped the gun and tried to shake me off, but I held on like a tick. I was good as dead if I let go. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see anything and hoping I could perform some kind of hold, hoping to cause Hank to pass out. Hank stumbled and he fell to the floor. I looked up to see my dad, his clothes bloodied, grabbing me and yelling for me to run outside!