It had been seven years ago, the day I first noticed Bethany Sommer. Maybe it was because I was just starting to notice girls; notice them seriously, anyway. I'd been fighting with my father recently, going through the stages of understanding the Bible in my own way. This way was, apparently, not in agreement with how he wanted me to view our religion. That day, though, even as I had come into the church with frustration brewing in my heart, the moment the choir began to sing, I'd forgotten it all. She was lovely, voice clear as a bell and unbelievably pretty especially to a boy who's sixteen. I couldn't look away as she sang, rich hair shimmering, her expression one of content joy. My heart swelled, my stomach hurt, and I realized I was smitten with a girl whose name I didn't know. When you live in a small town, you tend to know everyone just a little bit, at least. Bethany was vaguely familiar, but we had never talked to each other. There was little to attach us, outside of belonging to the same church.
