David McElroy

When I met Jocelyn last week, her beauty was the first thing I noticed. I thought she was a college student, but she’s actually just 17 and finishing high school this year as a homeschooler.

When we started talking, her charm and friendliness were powerful enough that I almost forgot how attractive she was. It was only about 10 days ago when I met her after she started work at a fast food restaurant in my neighborhood — and she keeps surprising me.

Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but she’s a very hard worker and has an amazing personality. Wednesday evening, she broke my expectations once again. Two days ago, she had car problems as she was leaving work, so I asked her about her car when I saw her this evening.

She told me what she had to pay for a new alternator. The price seemed low, so I asked if that was just for the part or if that was the installed price. She looked at me with genuine surprise.

“I installed it myself,” she said, just as casually as she might have if she had said she’d painted her nails.

It’s really pleasant when someone who has the looks of a stereotypical air-headed cheerleader turns out to be so competent and well-rounded. I love this girl.

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Katie looked at me intently with big blue eyes and her face became very serious. She seemed to be trying to make up her mind about something.

“Run away with me?” she finally asked. “I know it’s crazy, but I need someone and so do you.”

I had met Katie only an hour before, so it really was a crazy offer. In some absurd way, it seemed to make sense, just for a moment. But it wasn’t a real possibility. It was more like a fantasy. Doesn’t everybody dream of running away — at some point — and leaving everything behind?

Katie had actually done it. She wasn’t a child, but rather a 32-year-old woman. And she was asking if I wanted to go with her.

Until a month ago, Katie was a school teacher in a small town near Springfield, Ill. She had gone away to college and then moved to Chicago with a boyfriend — who she planned to marry — after she graduated. When that relationship ended with angry words, she moved back home, where she started teaching middle school.

Her life had been stuck in neutral until six weeks ago — when her father died in an accident.

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