The Fourth Sunrise: A Love Story Read online

  “Why?” Sharee asked. “What was so special about her?”

  “Something I can’t put it into words. All I knew was that knowing this woman was going to change my life.”

  “You knew that already?”

  “I did. It was like I saw into her soul and what I saw was the most beautiful creature in the world. I had never felt that before. It was as if she was completely, exposed, I saw her every perfection, her every flaw. All of it was beautiful.”

  July 1968 – Delta, Colorado - Deltarado Days, 9:00 p.m.

  “Like I said, it didn’t take much to sneak out of my room. The fair was about two miles away. So, it took a good half hour to get there on foot.

  “It was a typical street fair that small towns like to throw for the pride of their community. This one was two streets full of booths ranging from throwing darts at balloons to a cotton candy stand. I was more of a peanuts kind of guy myself and sure enough, there was a stand that just sold peanuts. Normally, I would have waited in a long line for some honey-roasted peanuts, but I had other plans for this night.

  “At the far end of the street were some simple rides. There was a merry-go-round and a fun house. Small town fairs are really cool. I was from a little town, and I appreciated the effort that a fair like this takes. There is a lot of pride that goes into a town fair.

  “I remember walking down the street, wondering what I was doing. What I was seeking. I was a simple man and everything I did had a purpose. This was different. I had no idea what to expect. That was really exciting to me. I’m not sure if it was stupidity or hormones. Maybe it was an unwilling desire to find true love that was bestowed on me as a quest by my parents’ perfect marriage. All I knew was, nothing was going to stop me from seeing Christine on this evening. My coaches could fine me for breaking curfew. They could even suspend me for a couple of games. But I was going to see that woman again and that was all there was to it.

  “She had told me she would be working on a softball throw booth. I went down each row looking for her until I caught a glimpse of her from about fifty feet away. She was at the end of the third row, running a softball-toss booth, just like she had said. She was the cutest woman alive.

  “The booth she worked was a game where if you knocked down the three bowling pins completely off the table, you won a giant giraffe. The giraffe looked to be about five feet tall. The game was rigged from what I could tell because you could knock down the pins and not necessarily knock them off the table. They only gave you one throw. So basically, you needed to hit the pins with so much strength that you swept them completely off the table. Not too many people could do that. I could.

  “There were five people in line and the game cost a quarter. That was a big deal in those days. A quarter could buy a lot. So only high rollers were in that line, you know, the kind of guys who were out to impress their dates but usually missed by a mile.

  “I stared at Christine and was just mesmerized by her. Her skin was milky white and her fair complexion was perfect. She hadn’t seen me yet, and to be honest, I doubted that she would be as excited to see me as I was to see her. This is where that stupid voice in my head usually sabotaged moments like this. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen this time. I was at least going to say hi.

  “I waited in line and stared at Christine until we made eye contact. After a minute, she finally looked in my direction. Her eyes grew huge and she smiled real big. Boy, did that make me feel good.

  “It took a couple minutes but I was finally next in line to go. I was really excited at the prospect of winning her a giraffe like I told her I would.

  “There was a man in his thirties and his son right in front of me. They were both trying real hard and going through a lot of quarters trying to win themselves a big giraffe. His son looked to be about eight years old. The man and his son took turns trying to knock down the pins and neither one was close.

  “The poor dad tried his hardest but it wasn’t happening for him. His dad looked at his son and said, ‘This is the last quarter, son. I know you want the giraffe, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Do you want to throw it?’ the man asked his son.

  “‘No, Dad,’ the little boy said. The little boy had brown hair and a face full of freckles. ‘I can’t watch. You do it.’ Then the little boy turned around so he couldn’t watch his dad miss. It broke my heart. I walked over and grabbed a softball that was on the counter to just hold it in my hand to get a good feel for it. I was next up, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to pick a ball at this point. I took a step back and was about two feet behind the dad. The dad had missed the pins completely—more than once in the last five minutes. So, I figured this throw wouldn’t be any different. I looked over at his son and he was covering his eyes with both hands.

  “The dad sighed and was getting ready to throw. With his son’s eyes closed, I tapped on the dad’s shoulder and motioned for him to move out of the way. I gave the dad the shush sign and he seemed confused, but he got out of the way. Then in a burst of energy, I gripped the softball with my right hand and threw it as hard as I could at the three bowling pins. I hit the pins and all three pins fell off the table.

  At the sound of the pins crashing off the table, the little boy opened his eyes and yelled, ‘You did it! I can’t believe it, Dad— you knocked off all of them!’

  “The boy was so happy. The man motioned to me: ‘Thank you.’

  “They both walked off with huge smiles on their faces and I turned and faced Christine.

  “She said, ‘That was possibly the sweetest thing I have ever seen. That was amazing!’

  “‘Sorry, I can’t win you one now. I let the man have it,’ I said, smiling.

  “‘Why not? I just saw a dad win a giraffe for his son.’

  “I smiled at Christine. I think she wanted to see if I could make it if it was for her. I loved a challenge. I gladly handed her a quarter. I took a step back and gave her a giant wink. Then I threw the softball, nearly exploding them off the table to win Christine her prize.

  “‘That was pretty dramatic,’ she said, laughing. ‘You are just everybody’s hero tonight, aren’t you?’

  “‘Hero is a pretty big statement. I’ll accept Greek god or God’s gift.’

  “‘Oh, you will, huh?’ She gave me an odd look, as if I had failed some potential boyfriend test.

  “I knew I’d better tone it down and get humble fast. This was the type of girl who liked confidence but not a guy who was cocky.

  “I said, ‘The truth is, I was scared to death both times. I didn’t want to let any of you down.’

  “Christine stared deeply into my eyes and said, ‘You are very sweet.’

  “‘I’ll accept that. I took a chance and it could have ended real badly with a kid crying and a dad yelling at me. I am glad it worked out.’

  “Christine looked at me in a way no woman ever has. It was beyond attraction. It was as if she sized me up at the moment and took stock of who I was. And I felt it. It was pulling at me. So much so that I couldn’t process it in my head.

  “‘When is this thing over?’ I asked.

  “‘This thing goes until 2:00 in the morning,’ she said, laughing at my choice of words.

  “‘Wow, that’s pretty late!’

  “‘Don’t sound so disappointed we only have this thing once a year.’

  “‘Sorry, calling this ‘a thing’ was a bad choice of words, but if I can be completely honest with you, meeting someone like you happens only once in a lifetime.’”

  Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 10:05 p.m.

  “You really said that?” Sharee asked.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because that is a pretty heavy line to lay on a woman, five minutes into your second conversation.”

  “It is what I felt, so it was what I said.”

  “How did she respond?”

  “She didn’t. She acted almost as if she didn’t hear it.”

  “She
heard it. Trust me on that.” Sharee leaned in and wanted more of the story.

  July 1968 – Delta, Colorado - Deltarado Days, 10:30 p.m.

  ‘“I get off at two, so…’ Christine said.

  ‘“Isn’t your dad going to come pick you up? Or a boyfriend?’ I asked, trying to subtly get the details if she had a boyfriend.

  ‘“You think I might have a boyfriend?’ Christine asked with a big smile on her face.

  ‘“How could you not? You must be the grand prize in this town. You’d be the top trophy in any town.’

  ‘“Prize and trophy? Nice to know how you see women.’

  ‘“I didn’t mean it like that. I met that I’m just surprised you don’t have a boyfriend.’

  ‘“What I have,’ she said, ‘is something a little more complicated than I would like to get into right now.’

  ‘“So, you do have a boyfriend?’ I asked.

  ‘“Not at the present moment. We recently broke up.’ Christine said the statement in a way that I wasn’t sure how she felt about the breakup. There was a bit of excitement and pain in her voice.

  “‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Actually, I was pleased as punch to hear that bit of information. I just wasn’t sure how close they had been or still were.

  “Christine looked up at my face and said, ‘He’s a good man. Just not…’

  ‘“Just not… what?’

  ‘“Just not what I expected in a boyfriend.’

  “‘Why is that?’ I asked.

  ‘“I’m a romantic at heart and he isn’t. But he showed me he cared by what he did for me. He was just not a good communicator.’

  ‘“Where is he right now?’ I asked.

  “‘Boot camp.’

  “‘He got drafted?’

  ‘“Nope, he volunteered. There is this goofy war out there where men are coming home in droves in body bags, but he insisted on fighting for his country.’

  ‘“I want to hate this guy, but he is sure making it hard,’ I said.

  ‘“He was sent out to South Carolina a month ago. We broke up right before he left.’ I could tell Christine was feeling a little more comfortable talking about it.

  ‘“Well, I hope he stays safe,’ I said. ‘I got lucky, I got missed the first time around from the draft lottery. Thank God for baseball.’

  ‘“Just ‘cause you play baseball, you don’t get drafted?’

  ‘“Not exactly, it just gives you a better chance not to be. Some ball players got drafted. I was lucky.’

  ‘“You don’t want to fight for your country?’ Christine asked.

  ‘“Christine, don’t get me wrong. I love this country. I just think this war makes no sense. But I’m telling you, if some crazy country wants to attack us on our land, I would be the first to sign up. I’m just not so keen on going halfway across the world to fight in a battle that I’m not exactly sure who our enemy is and why exactly we’re fighting.’

  ‘“You’re pretty philosophical. I like that. You take things in and digest them and come up with your own opinions.’

  “I looked deep into Christine’s eyes. I had never felt so comfortable looking into a woman’s eyes. They were beautiful and comforting. I said, ‘I would love to walk you home.’ I knew I was risking getting seriously fined for sneaking out, but I didn’t care. I smiled and knew in my heart there was no place I’d rather be at 2:00 in the morning than walking this amazing woman to her house.

  ‘“You can walk me home, Mr. Murphy. I’ll be right here at 2:00.’ She paused. ‘You might want to do something else. It’s only 10:30. You have three and a half hours before I get off.’

  ‘“That’s 210 minutes more I have to get to know you.’

  ‘“Pretty quick math,’ Christine laughed.

  ‘“Not really. It’s just 60 times 3, plus 30.’

  ‘“Your brain was able to just immediately come up with that.’

  ‘“I was always good at basic math. Trigonometry was a whole other story.’

  “She said, ‘I never liked math. I’m more of a writer. English and composition were my strong suits in school.’

  ‘“I can see that,’ I said.

  ‘“How so?’

  ‘“You have good communication skills. I can tell you are very smart.’

  ‘“Thank you,’ she said shyly. ‘You’re a good guy, Joel.’

  ‘“I try,’ I said laughing and trying not to be too conceited.

  ‘“It’s refreshing seeing such a handsome man fumble around. It’s actually priceless.’

  ‘“Handsome?’

  ‘“Oh, stop it, you know you’re handsome. But you’re also a little goofy. I find it endearing.’

  “‘I do get smoother as the night goes on.’

  “‘You’re pretty smooth now, just a couple of minor hiccups.’”

  Chapter Four

  Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 10:00 p.m.

  “Hold on,” Sharee said to me. “Did you really do that for that dad and son?”

  “I sure did, ma’am.”

  Sharee nodded her head. I wasn’t sure if she was impressed or if she didn’t believe me.

  “I didn’t think about it,” I said. “I just reacted, and thank God, I knocked them all down. I thought about it many times. What if I would have missed? I would have been the jerk who tried to show off but wasn’t able to pull it off.”

  “You were a ‘Triple-A’ catcher.”

  “Okay, I was pretty reliable in those years with my arm.” I laughed.

  “What happened in later years?” Sharee asked.

  “I’ll get more into that later on the story,” I said. “Only if you still want to hear more of the story.”

  “Do I?” Sharee said. “I want to hear every detail until she arrives. Remember, this is right up my alley. I’m a romance writer and this story pulls at my heart strings.”

  I looked outside but there was no sign of Christine. My heart sank, but I did enjoy sharing my story with the young lady, so the night wasn’t a total disappointment.

  “I like that detail of the story a lot. It tells a lot about the man you are,” Sharee continued to me as if I was a character in her story and not a person.

  I smiled and said as honestly as I could, “At the time, I thought I was able to knock the pins because I was invincible. I realized through the years that I got pretty lucky. I’m glad I did. I’m not sure if I would have impressed her as fast as I did if I would have thrown the softball high and missed the pins completely.”

  “Do you think it was destiny?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Okay, so now you got her attention. What happened during the three hours that you waited?”

  July, 1968 – Delta, Colorado - Deltarado Days, 11:00 p.m.

  “Well, the next two hours, I basically helped Christine out. I was the go-to guy to show the others it was possible that the feat could be done. Whenever someone would say, ‘There is no way to beat this game,’ Christine would nod at me, and then I would pick up a ball and shred the pins completely off the table to show the patrons it could be done.

  “It was nearing midnight and I had been able to slip in some conversation here and there, but there was always a large group of people in line. So, I wasn’t able to really dig in and get to know her. Another hour dragged on, but I tried my best to ask her key questions. You know…the important ones. ‘What’s your favorite movie? What is your favorite color?’ And the all-important question, ‘Do you have pets?’

  “Her favorite movie impressed me. It was From Here to Eternity. Her favorite color was pink. I liked that. It meant she was pretty feminine to love that color. The pets answer did throw me. Apparently her house was like a farm. She had pigs, goats, chickens, cats, dogs. She practically had a regular zoo at her house.

  “‘Is that something you’re going to want later on?’ I asked, concerned. I liked animals, but her situation was a bit over the top.

  “‘Not at all. Maybe one cat or a dog.’


  “‘Good. I’m a dog guy. I love dogs.’

  “One after another, people paid their quarters to play, but didn’t win. Then something interesting happened. An older man walked up to Christine and he appeared to be the guy in charge of the fair. He was a tall, lanky man with gray hair.

  “He said, ‘Christine, why don’t you call it a night? I got Steve to finish this booth. Why don’t you and your friend enjoy the last hour of the fair?’

  “Christine seemed surprised as if this was different than the normal protocol. I thought the old man’s offer was great. ‘Are you sure, Mr. Banks?’ she asked.

  “‘Definitely, sweetheart. Have some fun,’ Mr. Banks answered.

  “Christine turned to me with a look that melted my heart. With her eyes, she was asking me if I wanted to spend time with her. That alone sent a shiver down my back, that not only would this phenomenal woman ask me for anything, yet desired to spend time with me.

  “I smiled and said, ‘I would love to walk around the fair with you.’

  “‘Christine handed Mr. Banks her money pouch where she had been keeping all the quarters that she had received all night.’

  “She ducked under the center module that separated the patrons from the worker’s stand and stuffed animals. As she stood straight up, she looked at me with just enough vulnerability that allowed me to know she was feeling something for me, too.

  “We were now standing next to one another for the first time. I was a lot taller than her. I was 6’2” and she was probably 5’3”. She was adorable. She seemed so petite next to me. I must have weighed twice as much as her. Her long black hair flowed down the middle of her back. She had a natural beauty that reminded me of what was wonderful about certain women who didn’t need a drop of makeup to look beautiful. She did have on a little eyeliner and a tiny bit of lipstick. But it was almost unnoticeable.