“Yes, sir. Can I keep this?” Jack held up the flyer.
“Sure. Tell your old man I said hi.” With a parting pat on the back, Clark turned to go.
Jack walked to the Impala. As he got into his car, he spoke aloud to himself: “Someday… Detective Jack Stratton.”
As he was exiting the parking lot, he saw a policeman rush over to the detectives, followed by two teenage girls. Clark held the flyer out. One of the girls pointed at the picture and nodded. Clark reached for his notebook.
Jack hoped the detective had just gotten a good lead.
4
Dominoes
Jack tucked in his short-sleeve, black, button-up shirt that fit as though it was custom made, then stared in the mirror. Maybe this one?
Jack hated all the ritual and pretense that went along with a first date. Right now, instead of enjoying himself, he was concerned about Kelly’s parents’ opinion of him. Kelly had given the impression that they were pretty snobby. He looked at the large pile of other shirts that lay on his bed and moaned.
Jack’s father, Ted, who was across the hall, leaned away from his desk. “You look pretty enough. Get your butt in gear.”
Jack reluctantly settled on the shirt he had on.
“Yoo-hoo! Jack?” his mother, Laura, called from the bottom of the staircase.
Jack pulled on his sneakers and hurried out of the bedroom. “What time is it?” he called out as he thundered down the stairs of their modest Cape Cod-style house.
“Five forty-two.” His dad followed him and tapped his watch while giving Jack a you-wouldn’t-have-to-ask-if-you-wore-the-watch-I-gave-you look.
“Crud, I’m late.”
His mother was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. “Don’t speed,” she said. “You can be fashionably late. It builds anticipation.”
Laura Stratton was a small, slender woman with hazel eyes who always seemed to be concerned for Jack’s well-being. From the time Jack had walked through the front door, his mother had exceeded everything he’d thought a mom could be.
His father followed him down the stairs and patted him on the back. “Midnight, Cinderellie.” His blue eyes peered past his round glasses up at Jack. Short and heavyset, Jack’s father had a presence that drew your attention. Jack didn’t know whether it was the years of teaching math or the way he carried himself, but when his father was in the room, the focus shifted to him.
“Two o’clock?” Jack grinned.
“Eleven?”
“You’re going backward.”
His mother rubbed Jack’s shoulder. “You should have gone for one o’clock.” Her short, light brown hair bobbed as she cast an arbitrating glance her husband’s way.
“Midnight it is.” Jack’s father’s tone left no room for haggling.
“Fine.” Jack leaned down and kissed his mom’s cheek. Like a proud mother smiling at a newborn baby, she grinned up at him. He expected her to pinch his cheek, but instead she stretched up and kissed it.
“You’re picking up Chandler too?” his dad asked.
“Yeah, he’s bringing Makayla.”
Jack’s mom dashed away. “Ooh—let me get my camera.”
“Mom, it’s just a date.”
“It’s the first time you’re taking Kelly out. First dates are the most important.”
Jack looked to his father, who just shrugged. Jack rolled his eyes.
Jack’s mom called back, “Do you have the flowers?”
“Yes, Mom. I put them out in the car so I wouldn’t forget.”
As his mother searched for the camera, Jack tapped his foot. His father crossed his arms and looked Jack up and down as though he were appraising a car. “You’re a handsome boy, Jack.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“There’s something we should talk about. You should—”
“Uh-oh… This sounds like the beginning of a be-careful speech.”
“Well…”
“Dad, I’m good.”
“You’re a healthy young man going out with a girl. A be-careful speech is what’s needed. After all, you’re about to go into the Army, and I know you wouldn’t do anything to mess up that opportunity. But as your father, it’s my job to remind you that life is like dominoes.”
Jack groaned. “I thought it was like a box of chocolates but without the little map on the cover,” Jack joked. “So be careful or you’ll end up with a goopy-centered one that tastes like old licorice.”
His father gave him his quiet-down-and-listen teacher stare. After making sure he had Jack’s attention, he said, “Dominoes. You knock one down and the rest fall. Now, if you do well in the Army, you’ll go to college and move right into law enforcement. But one night’s bad actions and the dominoes could fall the other way. You need to think every choice through. Let’s just say you’re out and someone gets their hands on some booze.”