He stomped down the steps until he reached the bottom, standing inches from me. "Luring my daughter to your family's beach house so you could strip away her innocence and then throw her away like yesterday's news made me lose all interest in forming respect for your opinion about how I treat my daughter."

"You're wrong. And Everly is an adult, not an innocent girl. She can think and decide for herself perfectly fine."

"I have orders that say otherwise, but it's none of your concern. Just stay away from my daughter, or I'll make your life hell."

"Already there, Sir," I nodded as he stomped up the steps, slammed the door with me still at the bottom. "But I appreciate being worthy of such a threat."

LITTLE LOST COIN IN THE DARK.

We rode the subway on my first Sunday off rotation in six weeks. I slid Julep's Bible to her with a folded piece of paper tucked inside.

Suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it she calls her friends and neighbors to say, "rejoice with me - for I have found my lost coin." In the same way, I tell you, there was rejoicing in the presence of angels of God, over one sinner who repents." - Luke 15:8-10

Everly Anne,

You're my little lost coin in the dark.

Now that I've found you, I don't want to spend you.

Now that I've found you, I want to keep you close enough to me so I won't ever lose you.

- Callum Andrew

And I added, "Merriam Webster's schedule was a little full, but thankfully Luke was available for guidance. He thought that's how I should ask a beautiful girl festooned with interesting qualities to be my girlfriend. What do you think?"

Everly rested her head on my arm. "Much better than an okay."

I locked our free hands. "And you're much better than a self-appointed redhead."

She sighed heavily. "Now that we have that settled, I guess we should get down to business."

"On the train? But there's people watching."

She looked up at me. "Are you making a sex joke?"

"A bad one. Definitely."

"Maybe I need to make my own list."

"What number would you be on?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know if there are numbers high enough for you, Charming Sweeper."

She poked my cheek and then sat straight in her seat, handed me her backpack. "I have paper and writing utensils-the essentials for compiling a plan to rip my heart out and give it to another person."

I unzipped her bag. "Settle down. We're just talking CIPA today. We'll save heart-ripping out for a less merry day."

I grew quiet as I wrote her name and age. "Date of birth?"

She gave me The Eye. "If this is going to be clinical I'm going to be extremely difficult about my answers."

"It has to look and sound legit, Everly. Plus, honestly? I need to know these things. A judge will ask me questions and expect perfect answers."

She sighed in frustration. "Just talk to me like I'm a person and not some inanimate protoplasmic blob of flesh and bone sitting here."

"Congratulations we just reached the triple digits in how utterly interesting and adorable I find you, despite how immature your overall demeanor is right now. Why are you so grumpy anyhow?"

"Puppies are adorable," she scoffed.

"And she just keeps heading in the kindergarten direction." I looked down to the pad and then tossed it aside. "Give me your hands."

"They're kind of attached to my arms."

"Everly Anne," I sighed, but she wasn't being moved from her mood. "Dearest Everly Anne, please place your palms against my palms so that I may ask you very important questions in a way that doesn't reduce you to mere protoplasmic blobs of human flesh."

"Thank you." She rested her hands in mine.

"Tell me a story about an injured pinkie finger."