Lost Soul Read Online Free Page B

squirmed under her mother’s ministrations and quickly took off towards the playground.   Her tiny legs were no match for her mother’s, though, and Sarah easily caught up with the anxious toddler, grabbing her hand and pulling her close as she squatted down in front of her.
    “Hold on there, Speedy Gonzales!” Sarah scolded lightly, turning her daughter’s face towards hers so she could look her in the eyes.   “You have to stay with Mommy while we’re here, Jessie.   You can’t run off by yourself or you might get hurt.   Understand?”   Jessica stared at her mother, her large topaz eyes barely blinking as she considered the admonition.
    “Pway?” Jessica asked hopefully, bobbing her head, her purple scrunchie gradually losing its hold on her silky dark hair.
    “Yes, sweetie, we can play.   What do you want to do first?” Sarah asked, and Jessica turned to gaze at all the possibilities the playground had to offer.
    “Dat!” she decided and took off, clutching her mother’s hand as she dragged her towards the tall metal slide.
    Sarah wasn’t quite ready to let her toddler go down the slide all by herself, but when she started to say no, Jessica’s pouty bottom lip quivered and her chin turned up so high that her instantaneous tears ran sideways off her chubby red cheeks and dripped into her ears.   Sarah couldn’t possibly resist that kind of response, so despite her embarrassment in front of the crowd of onlookers, she hauled her daughter up the ladder and sat on the top of the slide, placing her giddy toddler firmly between her legs before pushing off.   Their descent was hampered by Sarah’s adult size hips, made even wider by the child situated between them, but eventually they managed to   gain enough momentum to slide to the bottom, Jessica’s exuberant squeals obvious proof of her delight.
    “Again, Mommy!” Jessie cried as soon as her feet touched the ground and she raced around to the back of the slide.   Sarah noticed a few parents chuckling and a few others looking on in reproach, but she ignored them and focused instead on the happy smile lighting her daughter’s face.   A few minutes later, Sarah caught sight of another mother being dragged towards the slide by a toddler — this one a little boy about the same age as Jessica.
    “We slide too, Mommy!” the adventurous little guy insisted, pointing at Sarah and her daughter.
    “I always told him he was too little to go down the slide,” the mother explained with an exaggerated look of chagrin on her face.   Sarah grinned and shrugged apologetically as the other woman climbed the stairs, her own toddler in tow.   The skinny, bronze-haired boy tossed his mud-covered hands in the air and cried “whee!” as he and his mother whizzed down the slide and plopped onto the ground.
    “How about a ride on the swings?” the frazzled mother suggested after a few more trips down the slide.
    Sarah’s back was starting to ache from lugging her daughter to the top of the slide, so she thought the swings would be a great diversion.   “Yeah, come on, Jessie, you’ll love the swings!” she exclaimed, picking Jessie up and following her new companion over to the swing set.   Fortunately, the children didn't put up a fuss.
    “I’m Karen Conrad,” the mother offered, poking her son’s legs into the holes of the safety swing, “and this is my son Caleb.”
    “Sarah and Jessica.   Nice to meet you,” Sarah replied, following her example.   They each pulled back gently on the plastic seat and let go.   The kids squealed in unison as they stretched out their legs and threw back their heads.
    “Have you been here before?   I don’t remember seeing you,” Karen asked, making polite conversation.
    “No, this is our first time here.   You come here a lot?”
    “Oh yeah, This is number five,” she replied, pointing at her obvious baby bump.   “I’m a regular around here.   My other three are out there somewhere,