The Priest -- 7

Leon's scooter looked a lot like this one, except it had larger rubber wheels and a wider and longer platform to stand on.

Jozef, the youngest of the six boys, sat at the breakfast table, squeezed between his brothers and cousins. The other boys, some already teenagers, were busy making plans, which, Jozef hoped, would not include him.

The maid brought in another plate of scrambled eggs. Leon, the oldest of the boys, helped himself to a spoonful, then said, “Let’s go to see Jarek. He is fun to be with and he has three sisters. Very pretty girls.”

Jozef saw his chance. “Girls!” he looked at the warm sunshine streaming through the window. “That’s boring. Can’t we do something else? I’d rather play with one of your roller scooters on such a pretty day than sit inside talking to girls.” If Leon or one of his brothers would let him have the scooter and not make him go with them, that would be perfect. He was good at riding a roller scooter, and Nina and he could go for a ride.

Leon turned to him. “You know what? I’ll let you have my scooter for the day and you can go and have your own fun. Wouldn’t you like that?”

Jozef made a face. He’d better not be too eager, or they’d suspect something and tell their parents, who had breakfast in the formal room. “But I wanted to go with you,” he said.

Januz turned to him. “You said yourself that would be boring. And Leon’s scooter is brand new. You’ll love riding it all through town.”

Leon broke in. “Right behind the plaza,where the circus is, the woods are starting. They have some wicked paths there to ride on. You’ll have so much fun.”

The woods. They could have so much fun there. Or, if she were scared of the woods, they could race through town and explore it. “Okay. I guess that would be a lot more fun than going with you to see some boring girls.”

“Good. It’s settled then.”