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to eat it from her hand.  She gave him a look of
excitement.  “She likes it!”
    He smiled a little.  “Not surprising.  She probably hasn’t
had a good meal in ages.”
    The cow had finished eating the grain and Morgan stroked the
side of her neck a bit timidly.  “What do you think happened to her?”
    “I don’t know.  She’s had a rough life though I think.”
    “Yeah.”  Growing bolder, she patted and stroked the cow on
the side of its body.  “She’s so bony.”
    “We’ll fatten her up in no time.”  He entered the stall and
petted the cow on the side of its head.  It sniffed his shirt pocket, found
nothing of interest, and turned its head to stare at Morgan.
    “I wonder how she lost her eye.”  Morgan frowned and rubbed
the cow’s broad nose.  It leaned against her and pushed her into the side of
the stall.
    “Ouch!”  She winced a little but when Gabe went to push the
cow out of the way, she shook her head.  “No, don’t.  She’s just enjoying the
attention I think.” 
    Humming softly, she petted and stroked the cow.  “What’s her
name?”
    “You can name her whatever you want.”
    “Daisy.”  She said immediately.  “Daisy is a good cow name.”
    She stared at the cow’s swollen leg and its missing eye
before looking solemnly at him.  “Do you think she’ll make it?”
    “I’ll have the vet look at her tomorrow.  She’s eating and
showing interest in her surroundings.  That’s a good sign.”
    She rested her head on the cow’s side for a moment.  “I hope
so.”
    She gave the cow a final pat before slipping out of the
stall.  Gabe shut the stall door and they left the barn.  As they crossed the
yard, she smiled at him.  “Natalia’s school play is Wednesday night.”
    He grunted in reply but she continued on gamely.  “She
really wants you to go.”
    “Yeah.  I can’t make it.”
    “What if there was an alternative to sitting in the
audience?  Would you go then?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “If you didn’t have to sit with everyone else, would you
go?”
    “Maybe.”  He said cautiously.
    She grinned.  “Good.  I’ll be at the side door to the
school, ten minutes before the play starts.  If you want to see her in the
play, meet me there okay?”
    “Can I think about it?”
    “Sure.  But I hope you’ll come.  It would mean a lot to
Natalia.”
    * * *
     
    Morgan took a deep breath and paused with her hand on the
door.  She could feel butterflies in her stomach.  She hoped he would be
there.  Natalia would be thrilled to see him. 
    Just Natalia, o r you too ?
    She ignored her inner voice and pushed the door open.  Her
heart skipped a beat when she saw Gabe standing in the shadows.  “You came!”
    “Yeah.”
    She held her hand out.  “Follow me.”
    He paused and then took her hand and let her lead him into
the building.
    They walked silently down the empty hallway.  He felt like
he should let go of her hand but she was still gripping it firmly, and he
didn’t know if it would be rude to shake free of her touch.  Just the touch of
her hand was exciting him, making his stomach churn with nervousness and
something else he didn’t recognize.
    He felt both relief and disappointment when she released his
hand and used a key to open a plain grey door.  “Follow me Mr. Dern.”
    She gave him a small grin of excitement and he followed her
into the dark.  He could hear children laughing and talking in low murmurs of
excitement and she took his hand again, leading him around a few boxes before
stopping next to a curtain.
    “Where are we?”
    “Backstage.  I thought you could watch the play from back
here.  There won’t be anyone else around to,” she paused, “bug you.”
    He gave her a look of gratefulness.  “I – thank you Morgan.”
    “You’re welcome.  It helps to have friends connected with
the theatre scene.”  She winked and dropped his hand.
    “Hold on a minute, I’ll be right back.”  She left