Chapter 17

All night long Christopher cannot sleep, and he can feel old rages start to swell. By the time he wakes up he is both sad and agitated. He is unsure of what to do, but eventually he gets the courage up to go next door.

Even the knocking sounds different somehow. "Good morning, Nan."

"Good morning, Christopher. I'm glad you are here. We have a brokenhearted little girl who thinks you don't like her anymore. After she came down and gave me a sincere apology, she asked me if she thought you didn't like her anymore. I told her of course not, but I think she would really like to hear it from you. She hasn't come out of her room all morning."

"She's not mad at me?"

"Of course not! She knows she was in the wrong. That little girl truly likes you. I think she loves you."

"In truth, I think I love her too." Nan's eyes go big, but then finally she is beginning to understand the depth of their connection. She smiles and waves him upstairs.

He knocks on her door. "Come in, Nan."

"It's not Nan," says Christopher, opening the door. She is wearing her pink pajamas with the long sleeve top.

"Hi, Christopher."

"Hi, sweetheart." She is lying on her left side with her head on her pillow. Her beautiful blue eyes fill with tears. Christopher goes and sits down on the bed with her. He sits in the nook of her folded up legs and tummy. He smiles at her and starts caressing her hair. "I'm sorry I spanked you."

"It's okay, I deserved it."

"Yes you did."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No way!" Sarah smiles divinely, and they spend the next couple of minutes taking comfort in each other. Sarah cuddles into him and Christopher caresses her hair and back. After another huge healing moment their hearts and faces are shining with Heaven's radiance. Christopher brushes her hair aside so he can see her ear, and then he leans over and whispers into her ear. "I could never stay mad at someone who I love so much." Then he pulls back with a small smile.

Sarah's eyes again fill with tears, but these are tears of joy as she hurriedly sits up and flies into his lap hugging him hard. "I love you, too. I really do."

As Christopher has his left arm around her back and waist, he puts his right hand on the left side of her head and he kisses her on the lips sweetly. "Thank you for loving me. Hey!"

"What?"

"We still have a computer to set up."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'll go get it and you get dressed, and then maybe we can turn our planned dinner into a lunch."

"Okay." The smile and joy she sends Christopher's way makes his heart skip a beat.

After the exquisite lunch made up of dinner stuff they are sitting there at the table. All of them have a million thoughts going through their minds, but it is Nan that breaks the silence. "I changed my mind."

"About what, Nana?"

"You can stay with Christopher instead of Karen if you really want to."

"Really?" she screams in a high pitch voice that almost shatters the windows. She jumps up and hugs and kisses Nan a hundred times. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Yes, but I'm going to have Karen check in every few days to see if you need anything."

"Deal! I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will. I know you will."

At long last, after the snow melts, Christopher gathers up the courage to tackle his backyard that looks more like a jungle than a backyard. At least he will be able to see what kind of condition his built-in pool is in. He waits until Sunday the eighteenth, so he can watch sports over most of the weekend.

Again Christopher is just digging plants and bushes up rather than dealing with their chaos. He likes the fact that he has four trees along the north fence line with the neighbors he doesn't get along with, but two of them have branches hanging over the pool area, and that simply will not do. Once again he pulls out his trusty chainsaw and prepares to go to work.

Once he is sure it is warmed up, he puts it aside and gets all the other needed supplies. He puts on his gloves and goggles and prepares to start cutting, but before he does, an adorable shinning face pops over the fence and says, "Boo."

He over-exaggerates being startled and turns around on her. "Oh you! Trying to scare me, huh!"

"Nobody can scare you!" she says, smiling.

"Who told?"

She giggles, and then Nan yells from the side kitchen door, "Be careful, Sarah, and don't get dirty."

Sarah rolls her eyes and says with a sigh, "Yes, Nana."

"I hope you are being a good girl for her."

"Oh yes, I am being the best little girl ever."

"Good girl. If you are going to stay there, you have to put on your eye protection and plug your ears." Even though she is quite a ways from the actual cutting.

After he hands them to her she does so. Christopher cuts the longest half of the main branch over the pool and it falls off, hits the side of the pool, chipping the tile, and then it falls into the deep end of the pool that is of course empty except for leaves.

Christopher can hear Sarah giggling. "Oh, you think it is funny, do you?"

As she is saying, "Yes." he charges over to her and tries to grab her, but by the time he gets around the pool and to the fence she ducks behind the fence line, while still on the old doghouse.

"Sarah, will you help me for a minute?"

"Yes, Nana, I'll be right there." Sarah says, more than happy to do it. "See you later?"

"Of course."

Christopher spends the rest of the day trying to get his backyard to where he can at least maneuver around in it without being attacked from the wilds of Connecticut.

Tired and dirty, he goes and takes a shower upstairs. As he is taking his shower he can hear Sarah calling to him. Eventually she makes it to the bathroom door. "Yes."

"It's Sarah."

"Of course, nobody else has a key to my house. What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

She opens up the door and comes into the steamy bathroom, shutting the door behind her. The glass doors are all fogged up, so he makes a clean spot so he can see her. She puts the toilet lid down and takes a seat. "I'm stuck in my computer again."

"Let me finish here and I'll be right over. Are we still going to go over some of your homework tonight?"

"Yes, and bring my favorite hairbrush. I will go take my bath now and be ready by the time you come over."

"Okay. Lock the front door behind you."

"Yes, sir!" Christopher smiles as he shakes his head.

"Come on, quit fighting it, you stubborn beautiful girl. Math is very important."

"Why?"

"Because it structures your brain for problem solving. Wait until you get into algebra and calculus, you will actually be able to notice the effects it has on you. It will make you more patient, not just in math problems, but in everything you do in life.

"My brother Alex has got a degree in Computer Science, and he had to take three semesters of calculus. Now, will he ever need to know that much calculus for that field? Hell no, but it structures your brain for problem solving, and that comes in handy with whatever you decide to do in life."