Sanctity by S. M. Bowles Page A

came
out at a different point than where I went in and noticed an aging
swing set tucked into the corner of the yard.  There was also
a little flower bed to the left of the swings that seemed to be
made up mostly of wildflowers.  One of the flowers in
particular caught my eye.  It was something called a tiger
lily and for some reason it struck a chord with me.  I walked
over and snapped one of the stalks and took the flower with me as I
headed into the house. 
    “Hey sweetie, what have you got there?” my
mom asked.
    “It’s a tiger lily, I think.”
    “It certainly is.  Is it for me?”
    “Oh,” I paused somewhat reluctant to give it
away, “yes, it’s for you,” I smiled and handed the flower to
her.
    “Thank you so much; I’ll put it in some
water and set it on the dining room table to cheer us through
dinner.”
    I looked around and saw that the movers had
gotten nearly everything into our new home.  It was starting
to come together and beginning to take on a familiar air with
so many of our old belongings placed in as similar an arrangement
as each of the rooms would allow. 
    My mother brought the flower to the kitchen
and put it in a long, thin vase.  She handed it to me, “Would
you put this on the dining room table for me?”
    I took the vase from her and transferred it
to the dining room before heading back to the kitchen.  “Is
there anything I can do?”  I was bored and everyone else was
busy arranging furniture, putting stuff away in cabinets and so
forth. 
    “I think the movers may have put some of
your things in your room, why don’t you go and see if you can
manage finding a place for some of them.”
    “OK,” I said, not thrilled with the prospect
but happy to have something to pass the time.
    I went upstairs and made my way to the first
of the boxes marked with my name.  I opened it and found that
it contained my book collection.  I skimmed over the titles
and began placing them on the bookshelf one by one.  It didn’t
take long to empty the box and start on the next.  The time
seemed to be passing all too slowly and I began to wonder how long
it would be before dinner.  It was starting to get dark out,
so I knew it must be close to when we would normally eat.  As
I finished with the last of my boxes my mother came to my
doorway.  “I think we need a break, Daddy suggested we go out
for pizza, what do you think?”
    “I think that’s a great idea!”
    “Good, let’s get going, shall we?”
    She motioned me out of my bedroom and down
the stairs.  My father was waiting at the front door looking
as though he could thoroughly use a little distraction from moving
too.  Once we were out everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of
relief.  I was sure my parents had been working much harder
than I had and so I was doubly glad to be getting out and for them
to be taking a break.  I felt like we had been disconnected
throughout the whole house buying and moving process and wished
things would hurry up and get back to normal.
    It was only a short drive to get to the
local pizza shop and after we placed our order we all sat around
for a moment reflecting on our own personal concerns.  My dad
perked up after a few minutes, “I almost forgot!  Mr. Donovan
will be back soon.”
    “Oh, well that’s good, you’ll finally have a
chance to work face to face,” my mother chuckled.
    “I was wondering, how would you feel about
inviting him to dinner one night, to welcome him home?
 Besides, I’m sure he would enjoy the company right
now.”
    “I think that would be a very nice gesture,”
she smiled.  “When will he be back?”
    “He hasn’t said exactly, the 19th or the
20th, I believe.”
    “Hmm, Elayna’s birthday is that weekend; it
would have to be sometime after. 
    “Well, I’ll leave that for you to decide
then.  Just let me know which day is best and I’ll make
sure to mention it to Michael when I see him.”
    Before they could discuss it any
further our