Dave Casler
PO Box 98
Ridgway, Colorado 81432
Young Adult Novels by Dave Casler...
I've been told by publisher after publisher that there's no market for Young Adult novels. I think they're wrong! So I'm putting my novels on-line for you. Forget the publisher! Read to your heart's content--it's free! And, I'd like to hear from you, too! Contact Page.
You're reading About Dan. Be sure to check out About Phillip here.
Dan is a normal kid who loves his soccer. Except everything goes wrong. Everything.
About Series Home
About the About Series
Index to All Chapters
Here are all the chapters, disguised as asterisks. Hover your mouse over an asterisk to see the title of the chapter. Click on the asterisk to go straight to that chapter.
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(About Dan Home) (Last) (Next)
Full Circle
The bishop sighed. "Dan, we've come full circle here. Look, are you doing ok at home? Are you getting groceries and doing your laundry and getting the bills to the executor and all?"
Dan's reply was defensive. "Well, I think so. I'm not the best cook and TV dinners are pretty expensive and I eat at the Fawke's a lot. And the executor's office calls when they think I haven't given them a bill, which is a good thing, since I lost the electric bill. And I'm not having nightmares anymore. Sister Jones comes over every so often to help with the cleaning. I'm getting by. I do my own laundry, too, though I really don't like to go in the basement."
"How's your knee?"
Dan was less defensive. "Not all that good. It's just not getting better. The therapist said there wasn't any point in continuing, and that was two weeks ago. I have another appointment this week to see Dr. Jones. I keep thinking I won't need the cane anymore, and then I fall over or something. The aching sometimes makes it hard to sleep."
"Dan," said the bishop, "has your knee ever caused you to be in trouble at home when no one was around?"
Dan looked guilty. "Well, to be honest, the brace wasn't buckled all the way in the shower last week. It came loose and I fell down and hit my head on the tile. It hurt like crazy and I had a hard time getting up. But I did!" he said, finishing on a note of triumph.
The bishop smiled weakly. "Dan, how's your schoolwork. Didn't the semester just end?"
Dan was crestfallen now. "Well, it's ok, I guess. I had to take two incompletes, one in English and one in chemistry. I didn't flunk anything, but I didn't get any A's either. I got a C in history. The rest were B's." He paused and then continued in a lower voice. "Those are the worst grades I've ever gotten." He got defensive. "It's not my fault, it's all the time I lost from school," he concluded sullenly.
"Dan, I'm sorry to hear about school. What are you going to do about the incompletes?"
"I don't know. I guess try to finish them. Otherwise they'll be F's. The counselor is on my case to take only the minimum number of classes this semester so I can work on the incompletes. But if I do that, I'll have to go to summer school in order to have enough credits to graduate with my class."
It was Brother Sam's turn to be surprised. "I thought you had lots of credits. You've always taken a pretty heavy course load."
"Yeah, well I won't have a problem with total credits. But there are required courses I need to take. I won't have them all unless I go to summer school. I was gonna go to England this summer. Aunt Betsy made me promise I'd come. She wanted me to come for the whole summer so I could get to know the rest of my family. I think she really wants me to just go back there and live with her forever, you know. I don't want to, though."
The bishop thought for a moment. "Dan, I doubt you father would permit that. Anyway, their educational system is very different from ours. But it's probably your choice in the end."
Dan looked at him. "Well, you're no help!" He looked at the carpet, tracing circles with his cane. "No, I've already made the decision to say here and tough it out. I'm an American now, even if I still have an accent. Aunt Betsy said I sound like an American to her ears. Maybe in another few years no one will be able to tell."
"Dan, what else is going on in your life that we should talk about?" asked the bishop.
"Well, there's Jerri."
"Yes, Jerri. Nice young lady. She went through a rough time before moving here."
"We've seen each other a few times. I really like her. She understands me," said Dan.
"Well, Dan, you've heard my counsel before. Be sure to date other girls besides Jerri. It doesn't do to get hung up on just one person. That's what the prophet suggests for kids your age."
"Yes, bishop," said Dan, rolling his eyes. "Be sure to tell that to Justin."
The bishop laughed out loud and so did Brother Sam. "Don't worry," said the bishop, "I have. And to Lisa, too," he added.
"Now," he continued, suddenly serious. "Brother Campisi is here for a reason. You have a lot of transition ahead of you. I've asked Brother Campisi to be your home teacher. His companion is Phillip Maceda. I think you know him?"
"Yes, I do," said Dan, surprised. "Why the change?"
"You have a lot ahead of you and it won't all be fun. Your house is filled to the brim with all sorts of stuff. Once the house sells, there will be no place to put it. I've already spoken with your father about it, and he says he doesn't want anything that's there, even if it's a family heirloom. I recommend one of two options. You can either have the mother of all garage sales, or we can bring in an estate broker who will haul it away and pay a set fee into the trust. You don't have to make the decision right away, but we'll need a decision in a couple weeks. Do you have any initial thoughts?"
Dan shifted uncomfortably. He looked into the bishop's eyes, as though he'd find some sort of signal giving him the right answer. He saw nothing except concern.
"I don't really want to see mum's things spread all over the driveway."
"I can understand. Do you want to go through everything to pull out a few things you particularly value?"
Dan thought for a moment and shook his head, tentatively. Then, he shook it again more firmly. "No. Everything I need is in my room. Except maybe for some photographs. But I'm not really ready to look at those."
"May I make a suggestion," asked the bishop?
"What's that?"
"Let's have your father get the photos out. He can hold them until you're ready."
Dan was repelled by the thought of his dad rummaging through his mother's treasures. But he couldn't think of an alternative. "I guess so."
"Ok, look, Dan, we have a couple weeks before we need to make this final. I'll talk with Sister Jones about handling this. In the meantime, I've asked Brother Campisi to keep a good, close watch on you. And don't forget, Phillip will be your home teacher, too. You see him at school, don't you?"
Dan smiled at the thought of a kid a year younger keeping track of him. He turned to Brother Campisi. "Thanks, Brother Sam. I look forward to having you breathing down my neck," he said.
"My pleasure!" he replied.
"Well," said the bishop, "I guess we've covered about everything. Please keep in touch and keep Sam busy, ok?"
"Bishop, can you do one more thing for me?"
"What's that, Dan?"
"Can you guys give me another blessing? I really don't feel terribly spiritual today, nor have I for a while. I don't know, it's just kind of gotten to me."