hi," Leedy stammered, thunderstruck
because, there, standing right in front of her, was Terry
Foster-the last person in the world she wanted to see.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Foster," she mumbled.
"Call me Terry," he said. Leedy noticed that he was still
as gorgeous as he had been earlier that day-a fact that
didn't make her feel any better. "I see you've met my niece,
Deanna."
"Yes," Leedy said, turning her attention back to the girl.
"It is wonderful to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Deanna said, shaking
Leedy's hand and smiling from ear to ear. "May I call you
Leedy?"
"Of course."
"Deanna took me on a tour of the University," he said.
"But it has changed so much since I was a student there a
century or so ago ..."
"Oh, Uncle Terry," Deanna scolded. "You're only
thirty."
"And you're eighteen," he said, pretending to choke. "I
have socks older than you."
Deanna rolled her eyes and wrinkled her adorable nose. "Stop teasing," she warned, giving him a playful poke.
Leedy sensed a strong affection between them.
Deanna looked at Leedy, as though sizing her up, and
then glanced at her uncle. "Please excuse me, Uncle
Terry ... Leedy," she said sweetly. "I need to powder my
nose."
Leedy watched her walk off toward the restrooms. She
noticed that Deanna had the same tall, lean build and the
same confident gait as her uncle.
"Are Deanna's parents here too?" she asked Terry after
Deanna turned the corner.
"No," he said, his voice dropping. "Deanna's parents
were killed in a car accident about six years ago. Ever since
then it's just been the two of us."
"I'm sorry," Leedy said softly, taken aback.
"Thank you," Terry said. "Deanna and I miss them both
very much."
"She's a lovely young woman," she added, feeling
shaken. "You have obviously done a good job with her.
You must be very proud."
"I am," he said. "But I can't take all the credit. Deanna
is a great kid. A teenager isn't always as much trouble as
people seem to think. She eats her vegetables, doesn't
smoke or drink, and makes good grades in school. And
she's quite bright."
"Yes. I can tell."
"She's in her first year at the University. She wants to
be teacher."
Terry Foster's face beamed when he spoke of Deanna.
Indisputably, he had been a good guardian to the girl.
Leedy was embarrassed. She remembered tearfully dashing
out of his office earlier that day and felt suddenly ashamed
of herself.
"Excuse me," said the man in the black turtleneck who
was sitting at the table behind them. "Whom do I have to
kill to get a cup of hot coffee around here?"
"I'll be happy to get you some coffee, sir," Leedy said.
Terry gave the man an annoyed glare. "Have a nice evening, Mr. Foster," she added to Terry, not knowing what
else to say. But for some reason, she hesitated to leave his
table. She shook his hand and smiled. She didn't want to
leave him, but duty called.
By the time she had gone through the dining room with
the coffee pot, Terry and Deanna were getting ready to
leave. "No dessert?" she asked, trying to hide her disappointment. She had developed an instant fondness for
Deanna, and the new-found knowledge that she was an orphan only made her feel even more of an attachment to the
girl.
"No thanks, Leedy," Deanna said. "We had better not.
My uncle and I are running in a 10k race tomorrow."
"Oh?" she asked. "Is it the one at Baker Park?"
"Yes."
"I'm running in that race, too."
"Are you really?" Deanna gushed, delighted.
"Yes. I usually only run in the 5K races. I'm not a very
good distance runner. This is my first 1OK race."
"It doesn't matter if you're not a distance runner,"
Deanna said. "It's all for fun, isn't it? We're in the Cheese
City Runners Club. We run in all the 1OK races. You
should join too."
"I've thought about joining them," Leedy confessed.
"But my schedule is so erratic. I just run in the races when
I can."
"I hope we see you there," Deanna said happily. "In fact,
why don't