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They were all Dad’s former superiors.
Behind the two old men stood a few broad–shouldered, short–haired guys radiating a tough. energy–I could tell right away they were military men.
“Huck!”
“What’s going on? We’ve been waiting for over an hour now.”
“Why haven’t you brought Snoopy to come see us two old geezers?”
The one speaking was Casimir Hutchinson, chuckling heartily as he talked.
A middle–aged man stood by his side–his biological son.
Dad always told me to call him Uncle Slater.
Uncle Slater smiled warmly and said in a low voice, “Back on the battlefield, Snoopy dug me out of a pile of bodies with nothing but his two paws.”
“If it weren’t for Snoopy, I wouldn’t even be here tonight,” he muttered.
His father let out a sigh and added, “Over ten years ago, Snoopy’s paws dug out over a
hundred survivors.”
The admiration and gratitude were evident in his eyes. “He’s our old friend. A true war
hero.”
Uncle Slater gently supported his father as he smiled. “Huck, if it weren’t to see Snoopy, there’s no way Dad would’ve left the countryside at his age.”
Dad explained, “Snoopy hasn’t been feeling too well lately, so I had my daughter look after
him.”
He patted their shoulders. “Let’s eat first–afterward we’ll go see him.”
Uncle Slater nodded. “Alright then. No need to tire out our old hero.”
Then, with a curious look at Dad, he asked, “But Huck, if we’re not eating yet, why’d you bring us here?”
Dad shook his head. “Falcon, my gardener, just told me something. That scholarship student I’ve been sponsoring–Dixie–her family caught a thief.”
“He told me to come take a look…” He paused mid–sentence, his eyes shifting in my
direction.
Before he could say anything else, Uncle Slater raised his voice, scolding, “What kind of nonsense is this? Why on earth would you hang someone up on a tree like that?!”
Dad turned to Dixie’s parents, his voice deep and stern. “Look at what you’ve done to this girl!”
He demanded, “Let her down immediately!”
“Even if she did steal something,” he said authoritatively, “you don’t get to torture her like
this!”
Othello and Loreena forced fake smiles on their faces as they quickly jogged over to Dad
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and Uncle Slater.
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“Mr. Constable, we were just helping you punish the thief!” Loreena reasoned. “You have such a big villahold–villakeepers, chefs, all kinds of staff–more than a dozen people in
total.”
Othello chimed in, “If we don’t scare them a little, what if someone else decides to follow this thief’s lead? No matter how rich you are, they’ll steal you clean, you know.”
Dad’s tone softened a little, and he replied, “Alright, let her down first. Then let’s go eat.
Where’s Dixie?”
He announced, “I want to introduce someone important to you all tonight!”
“Besides Snoopy, she’s the most important person in the world to me,” he explained.
His eyes turned back to the Yorks. “I hope she and Dixie get along.”
Othello and Lareena shook their heads. “Just wait a bit, Mr. Constable! Sit tight–our daughter has got a surprise for you!”
Dad looked puzzled and asked quietly, “What surprise? Why all the fuss?”
Uncle Slater’s dad chuckled. “Well, now I’m curious. Let’s see what this so–called surprise
is.”
“But first,” he said, turning to the villa staff, “let the poor girl down!”
Everyone’s attention slowly turned toward me.
My hair hung down in messy, tangled strands, swaying in the breeze as I dangled from the
tree.
A pool of blood had already formed beneath my feet.
Only Dad kept staring at me, a strange expression crossing his face–as if something was dawning on him. I guess I did look a little familiar.
We’d been apart for so long.
After studying abroad, I lived in Belgium for several more years.
I was no longer the shy little girl who used to trail behind him.
I had grown into a graceful young woman.
Even this morning at the airport when we ran into each other, he stood frozen in place, staring at me with wide eyes–half shocked, half unsure.
Like he couldn’t quite believe it was me.
