Sunday morning finally arrived and Ashley went into the kitchen for breakfast. Her parents were at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper.
“Good morning,” her father said as he looked up from his newspaper.
“Good morning, Dad,” said Ashley. “Is it…?” She didn’t even have time to finish her question when her mother pointed to the Living section of The Donnybrook Globe.
“It’s on page two,” said her mother.
Ashley quickly opened the paper to page two. There was a photo of the carving on the tree and a story by Susan Whiteman beneath the photo. The story asked readers to contact the reporter at the paper if they had any information about the initials on the tree.
“Wow,” said Ashley. “That’s a great picture! I sure hope someone knows something about the initials. Can I call Josh?”
“Of course,” said her father with a smile. “I hope you find out something about the initials, too!”
Ashley went into the living room to call Josh.
“Yell-o,” said Josh when he answered the phone.
“Josh,” said Ashley. “What kind of crazy way is that to answer the phone?”
“Sorry,” Josh laughed. “I was just being silly. I kind of knew it would be you. Maybe I should say, ‘The Stewart residence, young master of the house speaking’.”
“Why can’t you just say ‘hello’ like a normal person?” Ashley asked.
“How boring,” answered Josh. “Why be normal?”
Ashley sighed and said, “Well, did you see the picture in the morning paper?”
“I sure did,” said Josh. “Someone’s just got to know something about those initials!”
“I know,” said Ashley. “I feel the same way.”
“So,” said Josh. “What do we do now?”
“I guess all we can do is wait,” said Ashley.
”Ugh.” Josh groaned. “More waiting…I hate this!”
“I know,” said Ashley. “But, hopefully, we’ll just have to be patient for a little while longer.”
“Can we wait at Ella’s?” asked Josh.
“Can you think of anything else besides food?” asked Ashley.
“Not really!” Josh answered. “Remember, I’m a growing boy.”
“I know,” said Ashley. “But it’s only 8:30 a.m. It’s way too early for lunch!”
“I know that,” said Josh. “But, you know, I always like to plan my meals ahead of time.”
“Yes,” Ashley laughed. “I know that. How about I’ll come by at 11:30 and then we’ll ride into town?”
“Yipee,” Josh yelled and he hung up the phone.
Ashley looked at the receiver in her hand and said to herself, “Well, if he couldn’t answer the phone properly, why should I expect that he end the conversation properly?” She laughed and hung up the phone.
Ashley Enright and the Message in the Tree (10 of 12)
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