Oklahoma Wind, a novel by M. B. Baldwin. (continued) Chapter Four .

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If you have any comments or questions about this story please visit our forum. http://pub2.bravenet.com/forum/161188529 It was Saturday afternoon. The sky was overcast. The air smelled like rain, but nothing was happening. Paul was out, unafraid of the weather, walking. He had made up his mind to do something today, and nothing was going to stop him. He was on his way to the diner to ask Dory for a date. As he approached the establishment, he saw something that made him question his determination. There was a slick sports car in the parking lot. That car was known and envied by every kid in town. It belonged to Jerry Garrett. Paul knew he would be better off if he went home now. He could not ask Dory for a date if Jerry was there. He didn’t know if Jerry was a jealous person or not, but he didn’t want to find out. Paul was about to turn around and head home when he saw Jerry’s tall, husky figure leaving the diner. Jerry got into his car and drove away very fast. Paul breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly to the diner’s entrance. Once inside, he seated himself at the counter and looked around for Dory. There were no customers except himself. Dory was nowhere to be seen. He panicked a little. Had he somehow missed seeing her leave with Jerry? The diner was certainly not about to close for the day. It was too early for that. It must just be a slow time, but where was Dory? Had he come here for nothing? As Paul was about to get up and leave, Dory came out of the kitchen. She spotted him before he saw her. She greeted him cheerfully. “Hi, Kid! I haven’t seen you in ages! Whatcha doin’ here?” She walked over to a table that needed cleaning. Paul turned and smiled at her tentatively. “Hi, Dory.” He hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic reception. She was being very friendly. How could she be that way all of a sudden? He decided not to question it. It might be a good sign. It might mean positive results. “I came to see you,” he told her. “To see me? Now why would you want to see me?” She spoke without looking at him, still involved in her work. “Well, I…” He wondered how to go about this. Should he ask her right away? Should he give her a chance to get to know him better or what? He didn’t know, but his mouth took over for him. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out with me. Tonight. We could go to a movie or something. We could…” “Whoa!” Dory stopped him, realizing his nervousness and starting to feel some of her own. “Hold on, Kid. Just take it slow.” She left the table she was cleaning and went behind the counter. Paul had been silenced by her words, and he had lost his own in a state of near shock. Dory herself was surprised, and now she desperately searched for something to fill the void. “Can I get you something, Paul? A sandwich? A glass of milk? Anything?” “Milk would be nice, thanks,” he said. He was in a daze, puzzled bye the preceding moments. As she fetched his milk, he forced himself to collect his thoughts. Before he said anything more, he weighed the words carefully. When Dory placed the glass in front of him, he grasped her wrist firmly. He looked her straight in the eye, demanding that she look at him. “Will you go out with me, Dory?” His tone was not harsh but pleading. There was a brief silence. Dory was not sure how to handle the situation. Paul was younger than she was, but physically he was larger. She found herself somewhat afraid of him. “May I have my arm back, please?” she asked him meekly. Paul released his grip, only just realizing that he might be hurting her. “I’m sorry,” he said gently, then, “Will you, Dory?” She was free to walk away now. She was free to look somewhere else, too. She remained where she was, directly in front of him, but she looked at the floor. “I don’t think so, Paul,” she said. “Maybe some other time. I’m busy tonight.” “With Jerry?” he dared to ask. “Yeah,” she answered, “with Jerry.” She sounded unhappy when she said that, but Paul didn’t ask any more questions. It probably isn’t my business, he figured. He took some money out of his pocket without looking at it, put it on the counter, then got up to leave. “Thanks for the milk, Dory. I’ll see you some other time.” His voice was without emotion. When he was gone, Dory rang a dollar into the register for the milk. She wondered if he had left a five dollar bill on purpose. ~~~~~ At dinner that evening, Paul asked his father for the car keys. Mr. Carey grinned. “You have a date tonight, Son?” Paul never dated, and his father knew that. It annoyed Paul that his father even considered joking about it. Actually, Paul’s parents didn’t think it was all that peculiar. They just figured their son didn’t feel ready. They didn’t want to push him, but they did wonder a little, so occasionally, on of them would comment subtly. Paul took their comments as teasing, and he hated it. Why didn’t they just let him live his own life? He’d go out with girls when he was ready…when Dory was ready. “C’mon, Dad,” Paul said. “I just want to go to Spencer’s. We wanted to get together for a soda or something, me and some of the guys.” Spencer’s was the local ice cream shop, the high school kids’ favorite gathering place. His dad nodded. “I see. Well, that sounds okay to me. The keys are on my dresser.” “Thanks, Dad,” Paul said as he got up to leave the table. The rain that had threatened all day was falling now. It wasn’t raining hard, but it was steady. It was usually dusk at this time on a clear day, but the rain clouds made it dark. Visibility for driving was bad, but Paul didn’t care. His mind was not as much on the road as it should have been. He had known that it wouldn’t be when he asked for the keys. Paul had lied to his father about going to Spencer’s. He just needed to get out of the house. He was feeling a little down because of Dory. He needed to be by himself for a little while to do some thinking. He was determined not to give up hope. Maybe after he drove around a bit, he would go to Spencer’s just for a few minutes. Maybe some of his friends would be there, and they could have a soda together, for the sake of honesty. Paul didn’t like to lie, but he had really wanted to get away from everything tonight. He knew no other way of doing it. His father would never let Paul take the car if he knew it was just to drive nowhere, and that what was Paul wanted to do. He had been out approximately fifteen minutes, driving around the outer edges of town on roads that were almost deserted. His lights brought a pedestrian into view, a few hundred yards ahead, walking almost in the middle of the road. He slowed down a little. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It had to be a coincidence, but he would have sworn that the person was Dory. The size and shape of the body and the hair down her back were unmistakable. He told himself it couldn’t be. Dory had a date tonight. Besides, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk in the rain without a jacket or an umbrella. Dory wouldn’t walk in the middle of the road either. Eventually, Paul had to stop to avoid an accident. There was a car coming the other way, and he could not safely go around the pedestrian. He put on his brakes and beeped his horn lightly. The other car passed without even slowing down. The girl had been apparently unaware of anything but her own existence, and maybe she wasn’t even aware of that. When Paul beeped his horn, she turned, startled, and they saw each other’s faces. It was Dory! Both she and Paul were stunned. Neither of them moved at all for a long moment. Then Paul motioned for her to get in the car, and she did. Their actions were without words, almost without thought, like robots. The car seemed to proceed by itself. Paul regained his senses first, but he remained silent. Something was wrong with Dory. She was definitely in another world. As she had gotten into the car, he had seen that her eyes were red as if she had been crying. She sat in the car, just staring like a zombie at nothing. Seconds passed like hours. After three minutes, Paul had to say something. The fullness of the silence was too heavy for him. “Are you okay, Dory?” “Please don’t ask me that,” she said flatly. Her long hair was dripping wet. Paul felt it must be very uncomfortable for her. “I have a comb in the glove compartment if you want.” “No, thanks.” “I’ll take you home so you can dry off.” He didn’t even know if he meant his home or hers. Her reply was desperate. “No, not home, please!” She broke into sobs that shook her body, and she put her face in her hands. Paul was completely bewildered. He really wasn’t even sure in what direction they were traveling, but it didn’t matter because he suspected they would be out for a long time. There would be plenty of time to worry about directions later. “I’m sorry, Dory,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” “No, Paul! Not you!” she sobbed. “It’s okay. It’s not you.” He couldn’t stand it. He pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the rain on the car roof and Dory’s sobs. Paul sat perfectly still in his seat, looking at his hands in his lap. Finally, he asked her, “What is it, Dory?” She said nothing, and he continued. “You can tell me. I really want to be your friend.” Dory took a deep breath as she dropped her hands to her lap. She stared at her hands, and Paul stared at his, as she said, “You are my friend, Paul.” Her voice was trembling. “You always have been. I didn’t mean… well, you know, this afternoon.” She covered her face and began crying again. Paul shifted toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I know, Dory. It’s okay about this afternoon. But I really want t