Free The Way to Yesterday by Sharon Sala Page B

disappointment. It wasn't the first time Mrs. Barnes had been late
to pick her up and she hated having to wait. It always made her a little
nervous, afraid that somehow she would be forgotten.
    Her teacher was busy sorting through the waiting children, making sure they
got on the proper buses, so Hope slipped out of line and dawdled toward one of
the benches beneath the big shade trees by the street. She knew she was
supposed to wait in line, but today she was tired and hungry and wished it was
Mommy who would be picking her up and not Mrs. Barnes.
    She tossed her backpack onto the bench and then crawled up beside it as her
eyes filled with tears. A big boy walked past her, staring at the look on her
face. Embarrassed, she drew her knees up under her chin and hid her face.
    'Hey there, are you all right?"
    At the touch on her shoulder, Hope flinched, and then looked up. There was a
very tall man kneeling on the ground in front of her. Instinctively, she pulled
away and looked nervously toward her teacher, Mrs.
    Kristy. But Mrs. Kristy had not realized that Hope was out of line and was
busy with the other students. "It's okay," the man said. "I just
saw you crying and wondered if you were hurt."
    'I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Hope said.
    The man smiled and Hope thought he looked like a real clown with his wide,
thick lips and the funny little spaces between his teeth. Interested, in spite
of her fear, she sat when she should have been moving away.
    Howard Lee resisted the urge to laugh. With little girls, it was so easy. It
was always so easy. They were born with an innate sense of wanting to please.
"Well, you're right of course. You should never talk to strangers who
might hurt you. But I'm not going to do that, am I?"
    Hope shrugged, her gaze still riveted on the way his tongue brushed against
the inside of his teeth as he talked.
    'You know what?" Howard Lee asked. Hope shook her head.
    'You look like a little girl who's about to have a birthday. Am I
right?"
    Hope's eyes widened as she nodded. She was inordinately proud of the fact
that she would soon be seven and a year older than a lot of the kids in her
class.
    'I thought so!" Howard Lee said, and clapped his hands together, as if
in quick delight. "I'll bet you're having a party, aren't you? Going to
invite all your friends and play games and eat cake and ice cream." Hope's
expression fell. "I don't think so," she said.
    Howard Lee's mouth turned downward, giving his expression a sudden mournful
look. He wanted to touch her, but knew it was far too soon. However, he
couldn't resist a quick touch to her hair as he stroked a finger down the
length of one curl.
    'Why, that's just awful," he said. "A little girl as pretty as you
should have a party... lots of parties, in fact."
    Instinct kicked in as Hope retreated from the intrusion of his touch. She
grabbed her backpack and slid from the bench just as her teacher suddenly
realized she was missing.
    Lena Kristy saw the familiar blue van pulling up at the curb and looked
around for Hope O'Rourke.
    She frowned when she realized she was no longer in line, but when she turned
around to search for her and saw her talking to a stranger, her frustration
turned to fear.
    'Hope! Hope! Please come here!"
    Hope bolted, relieved that the responsibility of conversation had been
removed. She saw Mrs. Barnes and headed for the van, but her teacher stopped
her before she could get in.
    'Who was that man you were talking to?" Lena asked.
    Hope shrugged. "I don't know."
    'Where did he come from, dear?"
    "I was crying. I didn't see."
    Lena squatted down beside the little girl and then cupped her chin.
    'Why were you crying, dear? Are you ill?"
    'No," Hope said.
    'Did someone hurt you?"
    "No."
    'You had to be crying for a reason. Can't you tell me what it was?"
    'Mrs. Barnes wasn't here. I don't like it when she's late. It makes me
sad."
    Lena sighed and gave Hope a quick hug. Anxiety was hard to deal with,
especially when you're