Free Conceived Without Sin by Bud Macfarlane Page A

across the glassy, calm water of Barnegat Bay. So much fun!
    There was a small island upahead. His wife's hold tightened as they came around it. There were buoys up ahead. They were fuzzy in his vision. He tried to focus.
    "Don't hit them!" Maggie cried out, trying to outshout the high-pitched engine and the waves, which were now rough and white-capped. "Don't…"
    But Mark couldn't make out what she was saying.
    The first buoy came. But it wasn't a buoy. It was a little girl, flailingin the water, trying not to drown.
    It was his middle daughter, Angela.
    He was heading directly toward her. The controls on his Sea-Doo became sluggish, unmoving. He couldn't steer out of the way.
    Most people would have woken up out of the dream just before the bow of the jet ski struck the child. But not Mark. He was a tough guy. And in that strange way of dreams, even though he was asleep, apart of Mark was aware of what was going on. He endured the battering as his own dream pummeled him again and again.
    When he woke up the next day, he didn't remember the nightmare. He did feel an uneasiness, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did his push-ups and sit-ups, and lifted his weights. The exercise calmed him. He put on his shoes and his suit, and left for work.
    Another dayin law enforcement.
    5
    It was months later.
    Buzz was late. Sam found himself seated at a small table in the side room of Mama Santas Pizzeria on Mayfield Road in Little Italy.
    He stole a look at Donna as she searched for lip balm in her purse, which looked more like a backpack than a handbag.
    No, he thought, I'm not attracted to her. Too bad. Maybe not too bad, though. If I was attracted to her,maybe I wouldn't be able to hang out with her–I'd be too nervous.
    There wasn't any chemistry. He looked at her and felt no urge, no desire. Just a calm peace.
    Better to have a friend than a lover. Why not both? I should ask Buzz when he gets here.
    "Whatcha thinkin'?" she asked.
    "Uh, nothing, really. Just daydreaming."
    "Oh. Did you have a good day at work?"
    "Yes," he replied, finally smiling. "Everythingwent wrong. That's good. That's how it works."
    "I don't get it," she said.
    "I know. I'm sorry. I'm starting to talk like Buzz. All riddles and mysteries."
    "I like riddles and mysteries," she told him, looking up from her menu. "Now, why is everything going wrong at work a good thing?"
    "Well, unless they go wrong, you can't fix them. So I fixed things, that was the day's challenge.
    "One of ourbiggest customers called with a huge problem. His server had gone down, and he had been lax about doing his back-ups. He was trying to blame it on us."
    "So what did you do?" Donna asked.
    "I ignored his trying to blame it on us. That was just his emotions talking. He was bugging out because he was losing a lot of money and time. His information is the most valuable asset he has next to his experience.I tried to calm him down. I sent Johnny Traverse out with a technician, who diagnosed the problem. Johnny took the guy out and bought him a beer. That helped."
    "Did you rebuild his computer?" she asked.
    "Mostly. We'll have it fixed by tomorrow afternoon. The client is thrilled and relieved, and thinks we're the best supplier he's got. And he's right. We treated him right. We fixed his problem.He's happy to pay us."
    "Buzz would call what you did acting charitably," she observed.
    The waitress came to take their order. She recognized Donna immediately. They had attended the same grammar school. Sam and Donna ordered a Sam Adams.
    "I call it good business practice. It was good for him, and good for me. We were both acting out of self-interest. How come you Catholics always read deeper meaningsinto ordinary things?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "Well," he explained. "You see a normal good business practice as somehow confirming the Catholic belief in the Golden Rule, Love thy neighbor as thy self. Why can't it just be what it is: good business practice. Also, you have your medals and