Hitch hiker

The smoke filled the sky as the fire department arrived. The car was burning brightly and apparently was all but burned to the ground. The next day the rescue team pulled a charred body out of the remains and identified it as the owner of the car. A twenty year old kid. His mother was full of sorrow but still had the strength to fight off all of the reporters that came asking about him. That night the boy's mother got a call from a girl who she knew to be a close friend of her son. The girl was enraged and demanded to know why she had told the news reporters why she had said that he had no friends. Which his mother replied "Because he would have wanted all of his friends left out of it." Which the girl replied "Well, I have a feeling that he isn't dead."



Twenty miles away a lone hitchhiker extended his burned thumb at a passing car that continued down the road. He began to think to himself and realize that he had just left his whole life behind. A small smile appeared across his face as he continued to walk down the road. Up ahead was a truck stop. With some of the money he had he would get himself a cup of coffee and maybe find a ride to the next town. Not knowing where he was going he realized that the road was his home and that he could never return to the place that he called home for one reason. When you get the county sheriff and all of his deputies after you because you showed the gangs that they were the cause of the sudden drop in drug prices, there is always those cops who are wanting to kill you for uncovering the fact that they are also selling drugs to the drug addicts and then arresting them for possession. That was how the sheriff kept being reelected, but he did not figure that the body in that burning car was one of his own with a bullet in their head.

The only thing that the highway man had was a dirty brown backpack that had a few changes of clothes, a police issue revolver, and a police officers bloody uniform. Along with about three thousand dollars that he found on the cop.

The truck stop was open and he went in and got some coffee for the road. Apparently the officer that he had killed wasn't reported missing yet for no one even looked at him. He paid for the coffee and found a trucker who had a tire rack without a tire. He climbed under and got comfortable just as the trucker was pulling out and heading for the highway.

The next five hours was nothing but hearing the pavement roar underneath him. Then the trucker pulled into a truck stop for the night that was his cue to get out and find out where he was.

He was over a hundred miles away and was glad about that fact. He found his way into the town and to the park where he found a good place to sleep and stash the uniform, which he tied a rock to and heaved it into the pond.

Then from behind him he heard the sound of a woman screaming. When he reached where the sound was coming from he fond a man holding a woman against a tree. He was trying to cover her mouth and take her purse which he wasn't doing a very good job of it. Reaching into his backpack he pulled out the gun and the cop's badge that he had pulled off the uniform.

"Freeze, scum bag!"

The guy froze and turned around to see the gun in which he began to run but his feet kept tripping over each other. Finally he fled dropping the woman's purse and disappeared. "Thank you for the help. You know that this is the first time I ever had an officer when I needed one."

"Well I hate to disappoint you, but I am not an officer." The hitchhiker began to smile his usual grin.

"But then where did you get the badge?"

"Let's just say I used to be a cop, My name is Dan."

"Well thanks any way." Then noticing the back pack she realized that he was homeless and began to become afraid again. She took a few steps back and was watching Dan's left hand which held the gun.

Dan realizing that she was staring at the gun, which he went and put it back in the pack. But when he looked back she was still afraid of him. So with that he smiled and merely said "Goodnight" And with that he walked away. On the other side of the park he ran into a street gang that didn't exactly like street bums or anyone that looked like one.

"Hey boy, we don't like your type around here." The one with purple hair had a logging chain that was about five feet long and looked as if he had used it before.

The other three had bats. And all looked capable of using them. Dan knew he wouldn't get out this place without a fight and seeing as to how they had the numbers and the fire power he got ready to take a beating. Just then from behind him came the same girl who he had helped back on the other side "Randy it's about time you showed up, I was almost mugged. Until this nice man came along and saved me."

The guy with purple hair who apparently was called Randy looked at Dan and his expression changed "So you saved my sister, well I guess we can let you go."

Then Dan reached into his back pack and pulled out the revolver and pointed at Randy. Randy out of instinct ducked just as Dan fired the gun and shoot the cop that was coming up from behind Randy. Dan merely stood there looking at the dead body of yet another cop. The shot entered the cops head just like before. And the body fell the same way as before. Everything was the same as before except for the fact that Dan didn't throw his guts up this time, instead he just stood there with a look of hate upon his face.

Randy looked at the body of the cop and had only one thing to say "SHIT!"

Randy went and got his nerves about him and said "Come on man you had better follow us, the underground is the only place they won't dare look for you."

Dan looked Randy straight in the eyes, with the murder weapon still in his hand. "Why."

"If you don't, then the cops will get you for sure, that's why."

One of Randy's friends looked nervous while another said "How do you except to get him in the underground, he's no gang member and we don't know nothing about him."

Randy turned and looked them in the eyes. "He killed a cop and helped my sister, Lori. Besides I say he can."

When they got to the underground, the guards almost jumped Dan had Randy not waved them back. The place was decorated in posters of heavy metal and rap groups. A song by the Ramones was playing on a stereo system that made many others look pale by comparison. The song was Pet Cemetery and everyone there seemed to be slam dancing to it very well. Lori took Dan by the arm and led him to a room off to the side were no one could see them. Lori soft hair flowed down over her left shoulder and she let a small smile cross her lips. Dan's face kept its stone hard expression that it had always had. She steeped toward Dan and spoke softly "I want to thank you for what you did in the park."

With that she leaned forward and kissed Dan on the lips. Just then Randy walked in and was shocked by what he saw. "Lori what in the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Oh, Randy, I was just going to make him one of us."

"Lori you know they can only become one of us only if they want to."

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?" Dan had a dumb expression on his face.

"Sis, lets leave Dan here to rest up. He probably had a long trip here and he will want to sleep."

That night Dan had a dream about a clan of wolves that were trying to clean this town of all of the garbage in the streets. But what was the strange part was that one of the wolves had purple fur. One of the things that Dan's Mom had taught him was that dreams can tell you what other people were hiding from everyone else. So when he woke up he went out of the underground and found a news paper and began to read. On the cover was a story about a string of murders where the killers were only killing drug dealers or users. The story went on to tell of how the police had only been able to find tracks that matched a large dog around the scenes. Dan couldn't understand what this was all about but he decided to go back and ask Randy about last night. When he got back to the underground he found all of them asleep in their rooms. All that is except for Lori who was in Dan's room when he returned to it. She had dark rings under her eyes and looked as if she was in a fight last night. "What's wrong with you?"

"I guess is didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."

Dan remembering the article in the paper decided to ask her about the murders.

"Dan, there's something I need to tell you about us. We are all suffering from Lycanthropy."

"What the heck is Lycanthro- what ever?"

"It's a rare disease that the victims are transformed into a wolf at night and need warm meat to survive."

"How did you get that anyway?"

"Well a few years ago my brother, Randy, was dating this girl. She loved him a lot and she gave the disease to him, but only because he wanted it. Well to make a long story short she was killed by a drug addict that was tripping on acid. So."

"So Randy took it upon himself to clean the streets of all trash in the hopes of avenging her death."

"Right, but there is just one thing I can't figure out and that is how she was killed by a regular bullet if werewolves can only be killed by a silver bullet?"

"Maybe that part of the legend isn't real."

Lori had a look of sorrow and pain so Dan let her sleep in his room the whole day. For the rest of the day all of the others were still asleep and he decided that is was time to move on. He left a note and headed out the northern end of town just as a familiar cop car was coming in from the South.



He was walking all day and most of the night before he found a place to sleep where he figured he would be safe. There were stones all around and they did not seem to be scary at all. There was sort of a holy peace about the place and its inhabitants did not seem to mind that he was sleeping on top of them.

In the morning he continued on thinking about how the place he had woke up in had startled him and proved to him that if you are tired enough you will sleep anywhere, even a grave yard.




He started walking and the day went by quickly and night went by slowly. That night a police officer stopped him and began to ask him why he was there. The officer told him to put his hands against the car and began to search him. Dan suddenly remembered the revolver he had stuck in his belt just as the officer found it. By just glancing at it the officer knew the only way he could have gotten this gun was off a police officer. Then the officer became disgusted with Dan and pulled out his own gun. Just then out of the darkness came a pack of wolves which attacked the officer and tore his throat out. The leader of the wolves turned and faced Dan. "Now we are even." The wolf said with a smile on his face.

"Remember, if you ever need us again, you know where to find us." And with that the wolf turned and disappeared into the night.

Dan didn't sleep much that night but he kept on moving. During the next day he was crossing in front of a church and a black mustang accidentally knocked him unconscious. When he awoke he was lying on a couch staring at the ceiling.

Standing over him was a middle aged black woman. Her hair had just started to turn gray and there were a good number of wrinkles on her forehead and under her eyes. "Glad to see you are still alive, I didn't know if you were going to wake up for a while there."

"Where am I?"

"That's not important right now what is important is that bump you took to the head."

The room he was in wasn't much and the kitchen was in plain sight of the rest of the house. The whole apartment was no more than about twenty feet by thirty feet. There was a television in one corner and a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall in front of the door. There was sound of children playing outside. He felt like he belonged here even though his skin color wasn't the same as everyone else in the neighborhood. It had to be Sunday because there was a preacher on television and the woman was dressed in what must have been church clothes.

"Well since you are awake you can come to church with me. I'm sure the lord would like to see that one of his children is felling better and they are grateful for still being alive."

"I don't think that I am exactly dressed for church."

"It doesn't matter what you are wearing so much as how much you believe in him."

Dan with much doubt in his mind went to church with the woman. He remembered the church because it was the same one he was hit in front of. The longer he was there the more it felt as if he had friends and they were willing to share their love with him.

After church he thanked the woman and started down the road, but not before he gave a generous donation to the church.

The next year he spent moving from town to town doing odd jobs and always moving on before anyone got too close to him. He always saved the money he had and only spent it on what he needed. It seemed that the longer he stayed on the road the less he remembered about his home and why he ever left in the first place. Every day a feeling of wanting to return home grew inside him. Until he finally decided to return home.

On Dan's way home he came to a town called Heaven. As he walked through town he saw a funeral march going down the center of town. This must have been someone famous for it appeared that everyone in town was there and all of the shops were closed. Dan was in no mood to see all of the people and to have them see him. So looking around he saw a near by pond and went over to it to see if there was anything to do until the funeral was over. While there he saw a girl standing on the other side of the pond with long flowing brown hair and with the wind blowing just right it took flight and made her look even more beautiful than before. The girl looked about thirteen and seemed extremely sad. Dan couldn't help but to feel sorry for her and decided to go over and talk to her.

First he hid his backpack and started around the pond to see if he could help her in any way. When he got to her she was sitting on a rock looking into the water, not caring if anyone came up to her. Dan approached her slowly and sat down a few feet away from her. "You know, it might help if you had a fishing rod."

The girl looked up stunned that she hadn't noticed him standing there. Dan merely smiled and just waved. "So why are you here and not at the funeral?"

Dan could not believe how sweet her voice sounded and was starting to like her more each minute.

"Well mainly because I don't know who died."

"Then you can't be from around here."

"Why did the mayor or a senator die that no one told me about." Dan was starting to become a bit more calm with each passing moment.

"No, just my father."

"Oh, well then why are you here and not at the funeral. And what was so special about your father that the entire town is mourning over him?" Dan was trying his best to sound polite but was starting to lose his temper.

"It's just that I loved him so much and it would be too sad to see my father dead." She hung her head as if she was ashamed of the fact that she wasn't there.

Dan couldn't really sympathize with her because his father was never around and he left his mother with the job of raising him. He always hated his father and knew that someday he might find his father and he would set things straight with him conclusively.

For now Dan merely put his arm around the girl and tried his best to comfort her.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until she turned to him and said she would at least like to go see her father's grave. "Let me go with you and keep you company."

"Well I guess it would be all right."

Dan went and got his backpack out of the bushes and continued along side of her. She glanced at it and asked where he was heading. "I'm on my way home to Lexington." Dan hoped that she couldn't tell that he was lying about that.

"Well there's a bus station in town why don't you catch a bus and ride home instead of walking."

"How did you know that I walked?"

"You're backpack is dirty and I don't think that busses are that filthy."

With that they walked quietly through the town until they came to the graveyard. It was a peaceful place and the tombstones were clean. The stone wall around it was about three feet tall and the iron gate that stood at the entrance was rusted and old. The gate made a loud rusty squeak no matter how much oil you put on it's hinges. The grass was a beautiful green especially for this early in the spring. All of the graves had grass over them except for one off in the corner that was under a weeping willow tree.

He walked through the grave yard behind the girl looking at all of the stones as he passed them. Then she stepped in front of a grave that had the earth just thrown back on top of it. She looked down at the stone and a small tear rolled down her cheek. Dan couldn't stand to see her cry. "Listen I think I'll just leave you alone for a few minutes." With that Dan walked over to the willow tree and happened to glance down at the marker under it. The name on it was Danny Walker Sr. And under that was the inscription 'Here lies a great husband and father, my he rest in peace.'

Dan couldn't believe it, this was the reason his father never was around. Looking at the stone he began to become mad at himself for always blaming his father for all of the things that had gone wrong. He stood there looking at the stone for a few minutes and merely shook his head.

The girl walked over to Dan's side and looked with him at the stone "Did you know him?"

"I think I did. Do you know who he was?"

"He was a police officer along side my father. He died in the line of duty by taking a bullet for my father."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Dan said that more to the grave than he did to the person standing next to him.

"Unfortunately he only delayed the inevitable. My father took a bullet in the head, died instantly." She began to cry again and she brought her hand up over her face to hide her tears.

From there Dan had to wish her well and he walked on to the bus station. There he bought a bus ticket home and waited for the bus. When the bus finally arrived he climbed on board and settled in near the back of the bus for the long haul home. The seat felt so comfortable that he almost instantly fell asleep. This was the first good nights sleep he had in the past year. If only his dreams could be as good as his sleep. He was plagued with visions of death, which is something that he had always been running from, that suddenly changed into the sheriff and his laughter filled the air. Dan's mind was flooded with the images of all of the people that he had the pleasure of meeting and the fact that they all did their best to make him feel at home.

He was woke up by the bus driver telling him that this was the last stop. Dan sighed and walked off the bus. The town hadn't changed much in the two years he had been gone. People were out walking around talking to one another and didn't seem to care that Dan was back or that anyone seemed to even recognize him. He walked through the center of town and saw the same old statue there looking to the west. It was green and had a man on horseback with a sword in his hand. The man on the horse was dressed in civil war clothes and appeared to have a few rust spots on his legs and face. The grass around the statue had a freshly cut look and smell about it and the bushes were all trimmed up real nice. Dan looked up at the court house and saw that the clock said that it was about 10:00 a.m. "I should make it home by lunch time." Dan thought to himself. "Mom is going to be pissed."

Dan knew the way home and even though it was at least a good two hour walk from the edge of town, he felt he could make it if he walked fast. He had just reached the outskirts of town when a black 1990 comaro pulled up along side of him. The girl in the car looked familiar and told him to get in. Dan remembered the girl well and she was the only person other than his mom that he trusted. When he climbed in the car the familiar smell of cigarettes hung in the air. Dan hadn't smoked in so long that he had forgotten what one tasted like. The girl next to him lit one up and handed it to him. The first puff on it was haven. She had dirty blonde hair and always smiled when she was around him. Her smell which was covered under smoke was truely soothing to him. He had always loved to touch her. Jean had always helped Dan out of trouble and made sure that he stayed alive.

After Jimmy was killed she was the only thing that kept him from going mad and killing himself. Jimmy was Jean's twin brother, they were inseparable and their love for each other rivaled only the love that Dan felt for Jean. Jean was always more stable than Dan ever could hope to be. She knew the reason why Dan left and hadn't been seen for over a year. But there was one question in Dan's mind and that was how did she know that he would be coming back today.

She looked at him and smiled. "It's great to see you again Danny, I missed you."

"I missed you too Jean."

"After you were thought to be dead the police began to ask questions about you around school and in your old hangouts."

"So they realized that I wasn't dead?"

"No they never said that they were looking for you and it seemed as thought they were only trying to see if you had told anyone about what you had saw."

"Did they ever come and ask you?" Dan began to feel like he was becoming more trouble than he was worth.

"Of course, I was the first person they came and asked about you." Jean's tone changed then. "But I knew that you were not dead, not the way I had seen you cheat death in the past."

"So what did you tell them about me?"

"Not much, just a bunch of lies like how much I hated you for getting my brother killed." Jean knew that it was a lie, and it hurt Dan deeply. The memory of Jimmy dying in Jean's arms was still fresh on both their memories, even though it happened about five years ago.

"So did they leave you alone after that?" Dan hated the fact that all he was asking was questions but that was the only way he would find out what had happened.

"Yes but they bothered your mother to death and then they still drive by her grave every day to make sure that you haven't returned."

"Then everyone in town knows that I am still alive."

"No, the police wouldn't let the people know that you might come back. Especially since the fact that you were ready to lead all of the gangs against the sheriff and his deputies."

"I don't think I could do that now." Dan wasn't sure if the gangs would follow him again if he tried.

"Oh, there is a new gang that moved in a few months ago, they have been going after the sheriff and his men for the past three months."

"Well then, you better give me the story on them and now."

"There is about seven of them, they are calling themselves the Wolf Clan and their leader has purple hair."

That was all it took for Dan to demand to meet them. He then demanded that Jean turn the car around and take him to them. She didn't know where to find them but Dan then remembered that they would find him and that all he had to do was wait.

"Just let it slide to the gangs that the one and only has returned from the dead."

"But why, they will want proof."

"I don't care, I only want it to reach the Wolf Clan, when they here that I am here they should know me."

"How do you know that they will even know who you are, I mean they might think that you a NARC or something, besides, no one has seen them."

"Then how does everyone know what color the leaders hair color is."

"I don't know, but I will let it out that you are back."



That night the Clan paid a visit to Jean's house to see who this one and only was. They silently crept through the underbrush right up to the back door and found it unlocked. The back door lead straight into the kitchen and that was were Jean was fixing up a delicious dinner for her guest. The leader of the Clan leaped through the screen door and grabbed Jean. She let out one scream and was quickly muffled by the leader. "Where is this 'one and only' everyone is talking about."

"This is a first Randy, thought that you would have taken your time coming here, but I can see you are in a hurry as always."

"Dan?" Randy couldn't believe his eyes. "Your the one and only."

"Yes, and if I remember right, your sister shouldn't be too far off, where is she anyway."

"She's dead."

"What?!?" Dan couldn't believe what he was hearing, how could she be dead?

"After you left these cops came looking for you, they were getting to close to the underground, so we had one last stand against them all. But.." Randy merely shook his head.

"But there was too many of them and all of you couldn't handle them."

"Lori along with almost the rest of the Clan was wiped out. They all went down fighting."

Dan sat there unable to believe any of this and was starting to go into shock. His fingers turned cold and his face went as pale as a sheet. Dan wished that he could shake the feeling but it stayed, the only other time he felt like this was after Jimmy died. He remembered the feeling of helplessness as he watched Jimmy die in that fight that seemed like only yesterday. The last blow, a spinning crescent kick, landed solidly on his nose sending it up puncturing his brain.

Dan had to rush to the bathroom for the thought of all of this made him sick. The fluid that he was heaving up was blood. The crimson pool looked back at him almost daring him to look deeper into it for the answers that he needed. Dan quickly flushed the toilet and picked himself up. He felt a bit more steady and knew that he should be able to hold any more in. He returned to the kitchen and looked at Randy. "Well, would you care to join us for dinner?"

That night Randy and Dan cooked up an entire plan on how to corner the sheriff and show him for what he truly was, a lying two faced bigot. Randy stayed there going over the plan and listening to Dan tell of all of his experiences in the other places and how he had stayed alive until about two in the morning. After Randy left Dan turned to Jean "So, where do I sleep tonight."

"You'll be sleeping with me." Which she meant was that she had only one bed and didn't want to let him sleep on the couch, even through Dan had slept in worst places.

Deep down Jean had always loved Dan but never told him how much she really loved him. There was always one thing that kept her from telling him and that was wondering what he would say. She was willing to follow him into the deepest pit of hell just to be able to hear his voice. Saying that she loved him is like saying that Alcatraz was just a prison.

Jean laid down next to Dan that night which might be their first and last night together. In the morning Dan awoke to find Jean making breakfast. The sound of the eggs frying and the bacon sizzling was enough to make anyone go hungry just after a big meal. Dan rolled out of bed, got dressed and went to help her finish breakfast.

Around noon he meet Randy in one of the back alleys and they went to a secret place out in the country where the police would never think to look for them. Around five O'clock the other gangs began to meet and wonder who the one and only was. They had stopped fighting along time ago and joined together under one flag and they had been battling the cops ever since Dan had to leave the first time. They all saw the Wolf Clan and demanded to know who called this meeting. "I did." Dan was calm as usual when he stepped from behind the tree.

All of the other gangs couldn't believe it. He was still alive and was staring right at them

"I have a plan to take that sheriff out of office, once and for all." They all began to listen and understood the plan.

All of the gangs agreed to help him execute the plan. Dan knew that it would require the perfect timing for everything to work and go off without a hitch. For the next five days the gangs worked to get everything ready. The sheriff was going to play right into their hands.

The center of town was the place that the sheriff patrolled and all of them were waiting to see the sheriff show up there. It was around eight when the lone patrol car cursed through the center of town. The gangs worked quickly to cut off his escape and box him in. The sheriff was in the trap and now all they had was to wait for him to realize it.

The sheriff stepped out of his car and looked around. He felt this feeling before and knew it all to familiar. He could almost sense the presence of Dan in the area and all of the gangs around him. Looking around he couldn't see a single person but he could feel them.

Dan gave the signal for the gangs to close up but stay back. Dan stepped from the shadows and looked the sheriff right in the eyes. He felt the hatred build up inside of him. Looking at the man who had made him who he is and drove him to run from town to town looking for help.

The sheriff recognized the shape at the other end of the square and knew that he had finally returned home. He was going to get that boy and finish him once and for all. He began to smile at the thought of finally catching that boy.

Dan snapped his fingers and the other gangs walked out slowly looking at their prey and knew that he was as good as dead. Like clock work two of them began working on his car and cut the radio. The rest surrounded the sheriff and let Dan step through the circle. The fire showed in Dan's eyes and a smile crossed his lips. The sheriff felling trapped swung at Dan and missed. Dan landed a clubbing blow on his neck which sent him to the ground. Looking at the sheriff groveling at his feet made him feel like he now had the power. He spent too much time thinking for the sheriff pulled out his baton and caught him with an uppercut right on the chin knocking Dan to the ground. Dan immediately jumped up and tackled the sheriff to the ground and began to punch and knee him at every opportunity. The other gangs were cheering him on and wanted to see Dan kill him. Suddenly the sheriff threw him off and began to go towards Dan to finish him once and for all. Just then Jean jumped on his back, biting and clawing him. He grabbed her off of his back and pulled his gun out and held it to her head. "Don't anybody move!"

Dan was down on one knee and looked up at him knowing that the sheriff would just love to blow her brains out. "Back off guys, he ain't kidding." Dan didn't want anything to happen to her.

"That's right now you turn around and put your hands behind your head."

Dan done as he said and thought how could this have gone wrong. He could feel the gun being pointed at the back of his head and he began to think back to everything that had happened to him. He remembered Lori and how beautiful she was but not as beautiful as Jean. He remembered the kind lady who had helped him back out on the road. And then he remembered the girl that lived in the town of Haven. Just then he heard Jean being thrown to the ground along with the sounds of a wolf growling and the revolver going off. Then Dan felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and he fell to the ground.

When Dan awoke he was in bed next to Jean. Her hair smelled sweet and she was beautiful when she was asleep. Dan rolled over and looked out the window. Apparently it was the middle of the morning for the sun was shining in the window and the smell of the morning flowed in the window. It was peaceful except for the birds that usually chirped.

"It must have all been a dream." Dan whispered to himself and he feel back into the comfortable bed. Jean woke up and looked over at Dan.

"How is your back."

"It is fine as far as I know, why."

"Do you remember what happened to you. You were shot in the back by the sheriff."

"All of that actually happened?"

"Yes the doctors didn't know if you would pull through for a moment there but the doctor said that someone up there in heaven must really like you."

Then it all came back to him, it wasn't a dream. All of the drifting he had done and all of the time he was alone. Then he remembered the sheriff and how he was probably still in office. "I got to go."

"What for, there isn't anywhere you need to go and the sheriff is locked up in jail."

"But how."

"After he shot you Randy attacked him and knocked him to the ground." Jean went on to tell him about how there was a camera crew there from the local television station and they got the whole incident on tape. The sheriff was stripped of his position and put in jail for life after all of the things they got through charging him with.

Dan sat there listening to the story and when Jean finished she said that he had been in the hospital for the last week recovering from a gunshot wound to the back. "One more inch and it would have punctured your heart."

Dan stood up and looked into Jean's beautiful brown eyes and said "I love you."