Free Her Lifelong Dream by Judy Kouzel

Deanna said, sticking her tongue out and tasting the mound of whipped cream. "But don't tell Uncle
Terry. He'll have a cow!"
    "No! Is he strict?"
    "Are you kidding?" Deanna exclaimed. "He didn't let
me go on a car date until I turned seventeen! And my curfew was midnight until I graduated from high school! All
my friends got to stay out until at least one o'clock. You
should have seen the fuss he made when I told him I
wanted to live on campus!"
    "Oh?"

    "He said we lived close enough to the campus for me to
commute."
    "Well, it is right here in Madison."
    "I know, but I wanted to experience college life. It was
months before he finally agreed to let me go, but he still
worries. You know how he is."
    "No," Leedy said. "Actually I only recently met your
uncle."
    "Oh!" Deanna said, and Leedy heard a tinge of wonder
in her voice. "He knew you when we saw you at Mr.
Hobo's, and you both seemed so ... compatible at the race
that day. You guys seemed as if you were old friends. I
thought you had known him for awhile."
    "No," Leedy said. "I had the pleasure of meeting your
uncle for the first time only three weeks ago. He was the
loan officer for a business transaction I had with his bank."
    "Oh," Deanna said and paused. "You should get to know
him better," she said after a moment. "You will like him.
He's kind of a screwball sometimes, but he's a good guy.
And some women think he's ... okay looking ... for an
older guy, that is."
    "How old is he?" Leedy asked. "I thought he was about
my age."
    "Sorry," Deanna said. "I didn't mean to imply that
you're old, Leedy. Uncle Terry is way older than you. He's
twenty-nine! Almost thirty."
    "That old?" Leedy said, with feigned horror.
    "Sorry," Deanna said. "I guess that isn't very old. But
he seems older to me. I think of him ... um ... kind of
like a dad. How old are you? If you don't mind telling me,
that is!"
    "I'm twenty-seven," Leedy said. "Almost twenty-eight."

    Deanna smiled, delighted. "That isn't so bad," she said.
"Much better than thirty. Do you have a boyfriend?"
    "No," Leedy said, not minding that the conversation had
turned more personal. If she could ask Deanna about boys,
why couldn't Deanna ask her?
    "How come? You're so pretty!"
    "Thank you," Leedy said. "I date occasionally, but my
job keeps me busy. And I'm happy with my life the way
it is. Besides, boys aren't everything, are they?"
    "I agree one hundred percent," Deanna admitted. "Boys
are not everything. But they do keep things interesting
sometimes."
    "True," Leedy nodded. "They're good for that much, I
suppose."
    "Uncle Terry says you're trying to open a restaurant."
    "Yes."
    "He told me it's going to be a wonderful place. He said
he'd take me there when it opens."
    "Your Uncle Terry sounds quite sure of me," Leedy said,
surprised. "I wish I had his confidence, and I hope he's
right."
    "If Uncle Terry says your restaurant will be wonderful,
it will be wonderful," Deanna said. "He has a good head
for business." She suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh, no!"
she gasped, jumping from her seat. "I should have been
home an hour ago! Uncle Terry and I have dinner together
every Wednesday. He's probably worrying about me!"
    "I have my cell phone. Do you want to call him?"
    "No," Deanna said. "If I can just get to the bus stop
and ..."
    "I'll give you a ride home."
    "Oh, would you?" Deanna cried. "Freshmen are not al lowed to have cars. It's such a drag. I have to keep mine
at home. Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

    "Not at all," Leedy said. "I'll get you home in a jiffy.
You can call your uncle from the car."

     

The ride from the mall to Terry's house took only ten
minutes and Deanna had been right about her uncle being
worried. Although Deanna had called him from Leedy's
car, he was standing on the front porch with both hands
shoved deeply into his pockets when they pulled up.
    "There you are!" Terry scolded Deanna as she climbed
out of the car, a worried