Page 22 of Boss' Obsession

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean…you don’t need to buy it for me!”

“Hush, girl. Is there anything else here that you want?”

She smiles and whispers, “No. Thank you, Daddy.”

I place the locket around her neck. “It’s beautiful, baby.”

We return to the car, and I decide it’s time to prepare her.

“Our next stop is my family.”

“Oh boy. This is a big one.”

“What? Why?”

“Meeting your family. Will they like me?”

“Of course they will, but if they didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. I’m a grown man.”

“What town are we in anyway? I didn’t see a sign.”

“You’ll see the sign when we get there. Believe me, you can’t miss it. I come from a very famous place.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense. Where are you from?”

“A little village called Sleepy Hollow.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Like Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow?”

“That’s the place.”

“Will we see the headless horseman?”

“Well, not a real one, but there is a statue of him in the town square.”

“I’m taking your picture with him too.”

I laugh and tell her, “Whatever makes you happy, sweetheart.”

We pull onto the long, blacktop driveway that leads to my childhood home. It seemed so big then, but as we age, everything around us seems to grow smaller. The white two-story farmhouse with the wrap-around porch sits nestled between two large maple trees. My mother has decorated the bases of the trees with cornstalks and pumpkins to welcome fall.

“This is so nice. I’ve always wanted to live in a place like this with my own garden and a big, fluffy dog,” Beth tells me.

We get out of the car and I hear the screen door open. My sister, Mary rushes off the porch and into my arms. It’s been a while since I last saw her, and I can’t believe how much she’s changed. She looks like a woman now and a beautiful one at that.

“I can’t believe you’re really here! When mom said you were coming, I thought she hit her head and hallucinated it.”

“Come on, it hasn’t been that long.”

“Yes, big brother. It has.” My sister kisses my cheek. “I got engaged last week and you haven’t even met my fiancé!”

“Stop, you’re making me look bad in front of my girl. Besides, you can’t have a fiancé. You’re twelve.”

“See, I told you it’s been a long time. I was twelve twenty years ago.” Mary laughs.

Mary turns her attention to Beth and introduces herself. She takes her arm and leads her into the house with me following closely behind.

“Mom, they’re here,” Mary calls out and my mother rushes from the kitchen.

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