Free Summer Sanctuary by Laurie Gray Page A

who would have unlocked it today. Was there a women’s meeting in the basement I didn’t know about this afternoon?”
    â€œNot that I know of,” replied Mom.
    â€œHmmm,” Dad pondered. “Well, it’s locked now.”
    Dad locked the door! Dinah’s locked out!

Fifteen
    M Y MIND RACED . I had to find Dinah and get her back into the church where she’d be safe from the storm. I hurried back up to my room. Thank God Mark sleeps like a human vegetable. I put some clothes and my flashlight in a bag. Then I sat at the top of the steps and waited for Mom and Dad to go to sleep. I didn’t move until my dad had been snoring for a full five minutes.
    I slipped into the kitchen and opened the drawer where Dad kept the car keys. I knew there was both a front door and back door key to the church on that key ring. Once I had the keys in my hand, I stopped to make sure Dad was still snoring and that there was no sign of Mom.
All I have to do if I get caught is hide the clothes bag, open the refrigerator, and say I’m hungry. Mom will definitely buy that since I’m still in my pajamas and she thinks I’m having a growing spurt.
    I saw lightning flash just as I was ready to open the door to the garage, so I waited for the thunder to make my escape. It was pitch black in the garage. I thought about turning on the light in the garage, but it seemed too risky. I fished around inside my bag and pulled out the flashlight. I changed into my clothes as quickly as possible, stuffed my pajamas into the bag, and hid the bag in the cabinet where Mom kept all the extra toilet paper, Kleenex, and diapers.
    I debated about whether or not to ride my bike, but decided since Dinah was walking, I’d better walk, too. I grabbed Mark’s rain poncho out of his baseball bag and mine out of the cabinet.
Should I take Dad’s big Notre Dame umbrella out of the car? I might as well walk around with a key on a kite waiting for lightning to strike me.
I slipped into my rain poncho and stuffed Mark’s poncho inside the big front pocket. Then I stepped quietly out into the night.
    The rain was really coming down. I darted through the torrents, straight across the grass to the church. I ran faster, driving even more rain into my face. The drops rolled, dripped, and splashed into my eyes. The uneven ground knocked me off balance, and all of the puddles kept sucking me in. By the time I reached theback of the church, the water was squishing in my sneakers, and my jeans were plastered to my skin.
What was I thinking wearing long pants anyway? I should have put on my swim trunks!
There was no sign of Dinah as I checked the back door. It was locked all right. My first thought was that she would be at our tree waiting for me.
She doesn’t know I know she’s locked out. Only a fool would stand under a tree in a storm. A tree’s an even bigger lightning rod than an umbrella. Where could Dinah be?
    Then I remembered she’d spent several nights in the park by the YMCA.
Maybe she’s in that playhouse. Is the playhouse any safer than under a tree? At least it’s out of the rain
. The church was less than a mile from the YMCA on foot. I ran most of the way, only this time I stayed on the trails. By the time I reached the park, the rain had let up. The play area included a big wooden ship that was two stories high on one end and a playhouse that was three stories high at the other end. Mark and I called the playhouse the castle. There were all kinds of slides and tires and monkey bars in between. Depending on which way you went up, there was a swinging wooden bridge leading up to the castle.
    I bounded up two stairs at a time and crossed the bridge to the castle. That put me up high enough to seeinto the second floor as I approached. “Dinah!” I called softly several times. No response. I didn’t want to startle her by just walking right up. I think I was probably more worried