WISHES
by
Duckling
Chapter 3
The Chapters
Frank
Hardy pulled the brother’s dark van into the Hardy driveway and shut off
the engine. He got out of the vehicle and slowly approached the house,
hoping he could slip in unnoticed by his parents; he didn’t want to have
to explain why his brother wasn’t beside him.
Hanging
his jacket up in the coat closet, he stifled a sigh as he heard the sound
of the television from the living room. Just then, his mother appeared
smiling brightly as she embraced him.
“How
was your evening, son?” the petite blonde asked. “Did you and Callie
enjoy the movie?”
Frank
was momentarily taken aback. Why hadn’t his mother asked about Joe? And
why did she neglect to mention him when she asked about the evening. Both
of his parents knew he and Joe usually double dated.
“Awful,”
Frank replied at last, as he headed into the living room. Perhaps his
mother thought they had gone on separate dates. Either way, he wanted to
break the news of Joe’s disappearance to his parents at the same time.
“Well,
I’m sorry to hear that, son,” said tall dark-haired Fenton Hardy as he
looked up from the TV program he had been watching; it was easy to tell
the two were father and son.
Frank
had expected one or both of his parents to comment on Joe’s whereabouts,
but neither did. Casting a quick glance at the family photo that hung in
its accustomed place on the wall, Frank gave a quick gasp. In the spot
where Joe’s image should have been, there was now only emptiness.
“Son,”
Laura Hardy exchanged a worried glance with her husband as she observed
the teen’s behavior. “Frank, honey, what’s wrong?”
“Joe,”
Frank said almost hysterically, “Joe’s not in that picture!” he
turned wild eyes to his parents, expecting to see shock and dismay on
their faces. Instead he saw only confusion and concern. “Joe’s
gone!” Frank explained urgently, not understanding why his parents were
looking at him so strangely.
Fenton
stood up and took his shaken son gently by the arm, leading him to a seat
on the sofa. Sitting down beside him, he peered into his son’s eyes as
he said softly, “Frank, are you alright?”
Frank
looked in irritated bafflement from one parent to the other. “No, I’m
not alright,” the teen declared hotly. “Joe is gone! Don’t you
understand? Joe has disappeared. Vanished. Gone.”
Now
Laura sat down gently on Frank’s other side and took Frank’s hand.
“Honey, we can see that this has upset you, but we just want to help.”
Frank
was stunned. Why didn’t they understand? He continued to glance wildly
from his mother to his father and back again.
Finally,
his father reached out and held the teen’s face between his hands.
“Son,”
Fenton asked gently, “who is Joe?”
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.