November 22, 1963

Most Americans who were alive when John F. Kennedy was shot remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news, and Lorraine was no exception.

When she woke up that morning, Lorraine was convinced that it would be a great day, and nothing could possibly go wrong. Edward had called her the night before to tell her that he was coming back to Clearwater Lake from Madison for Thanksgiving break, and she couldn't wait to see him. When her alarm clock went off, Lorraine jumped out of bed, quickly got ready for school, and ran out the door. She knew that Edward wouldn't arrive home until ten o'clock, but she couldn't wait to see her boyfriend. There were no words to describe how much she had missed him over the last few months.

Despite the fact that she was a senior, Lorraine still had to take the bus to school. She had complained to her mother many times, but Mom insisted that she needed the car to get to work, so Lorraine was stuck riding the bus with all of the underclassmen at East Clearwater Lake High School. It was still better than it was last year, before the school had split into two. Last year, she couldn't stand to be on the bus - it was far too crowded, and Lorraine could hardly breathe when she was sandwiched between three of her classmates.

The bus ride itself was uneventful. Lorraine didn't have a ton of friends at East Clearwater Lake - most of her closest friends still lived on the reservation. Peggy Wilburn insisted on sitting next to Lorraine and chatting incessantly about the Beach Boys throughout the bus ride, but Lorraine wasn't paying much attention to her. She stared out the window and dreamed of Edward, wishing that she didn't have to wait until after school to see him.

When the bus arrived at East Clearwater Lake High School, Lorraine hopped off of the bus and went into the school. She quickly stopped at her locker to drop off her sweater and then headed to history class. However, Lorraine didn't pay much attention in class. She nearly fell asleep during her teacher's lecture, and she only paid attention when the Mrs. Horlacher asked her when the Aroostook War began.

"I don't know," Lorraine admitted.

Peggy Wilburn, of course, immediately raised her hand and answered, "It ended in 1838."

"Very good, Peggy," Mrs. Horlacher said. "Lorraine, please make sure that you're paying attention during class."

"I am paying attention," Lorraine insisted, but all she wanted was to think about was Edward. Memorizing the date of the start of the Aroostook War frankly wasn't a priority for Lorraine when her boyfriend was coming.

Lorraine thought about Edward through English, math, and French, and when lunch came around, Peggy and a few of her friends decided to sit with Lorraine. "Hi Lorraine," Peggy said. "Are you and Edward Morrison still going steady?"

Lorraine nodded and said, "He's coming home today for Thanksgiving break."

"That's nice," Peggy said. "Are you going to go see him?"

"Not until after school," Lorraine said. "I'd like to see him sooner." She looked toward the clock and said, "He's probably home now."

"You could see him now if you wanted to," Peggy said.

"How?" Lorraine asked. She wanted to see Edward more than anything, but she didn't see how she could get out of going to class. It was one of those things that she just had to do.

"You could ditch," Peggy suggested.

"Peggy, there are so many problems with that plan," Lorraine said. "I'm going to get caught, and even if I did cut class without getting caught, I wouldn't be able to see Edward. He lives too far away - I can't walk all the way to the lake from East Clearwater Lake."

"I have a car," Peggy said. "I'll drive you to Edward's house."

"That's nice of you to offer, but we're still going to get caught," Lorraine said.

"Not if we leave now," Peggy said. "As long as we're back before seventh period starts, nobody will notice. Mrs. Sandford never takes attendance." Peggy took a few more bites of her barely edible cafeteria pizza and then got up and headed for the door. Lorraine remained in her seat, but when Peggy gestured for her to follow her, Lorraine's desire to see Edward consumed her. She got up from her chair and followed Peggy out of the school and into the parking lot where her bright red convertible was.

"How many times have you cut class before, Peggy?" Lorraine asked.

"Just a few times," Peggy said as she climbed into the driver's seat. Lorraine sat down in the passenger's seat, looking back to make sure that nobody saw them. Peggy immediately started the car, and the two of them left the East Clearwater Lake High School parking lot. "Where does Edward live?" Peggy asked.

"He lives on the north side of the lake," Lorraine said. "His address is 42 Forest Lane."

"So he actually lives on the lake?" Peggy said. Lorraine nodded, and Peggy said, "You're lucky, Lorraine. His family must be super rich."

"They're not that rich," Lorraine said. "They just got here before anyone else. The Morrisons were one of the first families to settle in this area." Peggy shrugged, and Lorraine said, "Besides, you shouldn't be talking. You have your own car."

"Is Edward in the yacht club?" Peggy asked.

"He's in the yacht club," Lorraine said. "Edward's a very good sailor."

"Interesting," Peggy said. "I wouldn't have expected that, you know, with his leg problem."

"He has a little trouble getting in and out of the boat, but otherwise, sailing doesn't really use your legs," Lorraine said.

"I didn't know that," Peggy said. "I guess I don't really know that much about sailing. Ooh, do you ever get to go to the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club parties?"

"I went to one once," Lorraine said.

"What did you think?" Peggy asked.

"It wasn't nearly as exciting as you think it is, Peggy," Lorraine said.

"That's disappointing," Peggy said. "By the way, we're almost there."

Lorraine looked out the window and saw Clearwater Lake. The lake was beautiful that morning, with the sun reflecting off of the surface of the freezing water and making it shine. There were houses lining the shore, all of them at least twice the size of her home. The whole scene was quite impressive, but she couldn't focus too much on the view out her window when she was about to see Edward for the first time in months.

Peggy parked in the Morrisons' driveway and said, "I'll be waiting in the car. As long as you're back by one o'clock, we should make it back to class in time. Have fun with Edward, Lorraine."

"Thanks for the ride, Peggy," Lorraine said as she climbed out of the car. She ran up to the Morrisons' door and knocked on it, hoping that Edward would answer.

The door swung open, and sure enough, Edward was there. He looked exactly like he had three months earlier, with his sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and slightly oversized glasses. Edward smiled, keeping one hand firmly on his cane, and said, "Lorraine? I thought that you were supposed to be in school."

"I'm skipping class for you," Lorraine said.

"That's sweet of you, but you really should be in class," Edward said. Nevertheless, he leaned in and kissed Lorraine, and her heart began to race.

"Edward, what's going on in there?" Edward's mother asked.

"Lorraine came over," Edward said with a grin.

"Oh, that's nice," Mrs. Morrison said. "I thought that you would have found some girl at college by now, Edward, but it's nice that you and Lorraine are still keeping in touch."

Mrs. Morrison went back into the living room, and Edward rolled his eyes and said, "She just doesn't understand us. Anyways, it's so good to see you, Lorraine. I've missed you so much."

"It's good to see you too," Lorraine said. "How's college been?"

"Lonely without you," Edward said. "How's high school? I heard that they split Clearwater Lake High School into two."

"They did," Lorraine said. "I'm going to East Clearwater High School now."

"Interesting. I didn't think that they'd actually go through with the split," Edward said. "Is there anything else new?"

"Not really," Lorraine said. "Nothing ever changes in Clearwater Lake."

"That's definitely true," Edward said. "Then again, that's what I like about it. The lake will always be clear, my sailboat will always be floating there next to the shore, and you'll always be there for me."

Lorraine smiled and said, "I like that way of thinking, and I'll always be there for you as long as you're always there for me."

"I'll be there for you," Edward said. "Speaking of the lake, do you want to go sailing?"

"Isn't it a little cold for that?" Lorraine said.

"If you bring a jacket, you'll be okay," Edward said.

"I want to go sailing, but Peggy said that I have to be back by one o'clock," Lorraine said as Edward put on his coat, still keeping one hand on his cane.

"I'll make sure that you're back by one," Edward said. "I wish you didn't have to leave though."

"I'll be back as soon as school lets out," Lorraine said.

Lorraine and Edward were about to head outside when Mrs. Morrison suddenly stopped them. "You two won't believe what I just saw on TV," she said.

"What is it, Mom?" Edward asked.

"Someone shot President Kennedy," Mrs. Morrison said.

Lorraine gasped, while Edward didn't seem to believe the news. "That can't be true," Edward said. "You must have misheard something, Mom."

"I didn't," Mrs. Morrison said, fighting back tears. The TV was still on in the living room, so Edward and Lorraine went there to see what was going on. Lorraine didn't normally watch the news - her mom watched it on a daily basis, but Lorraine usually couldn't bring herself to care about current events - but now, she couldn't look away from the TV screen. She had to know if the president was still alive.

Over an hour passed by as Lorraine, Edward, and Mrs. Morrison watched the TV screen. At one point, Mrs. Morrison called her husband to tearfully tell him the news, even though someone at his job had already told him, while Edward and Lorraine continued to watch the news. When they finally announced that Kennedy was dead, Lorraine didn't know what to think - she hadn't known that something so horrible could happen.

At 1:45, Peggy knocked on the door. "Lorraine!" she exclaimed. "What could possibly be taking so long? We've both missed seventh period!"

"President Kennedy died today," Lorraine said, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Someone shot him in Dallas."

"Wait, what?" Peggy said. She walked outside and turned on her car's radio, but much to Lorraine's surprise, even the rock 'n roll station that Peggy usually listened to was broadcasting the news. "We have to get back to school," Peggy insisted. "What if they bomb Clearwater Lake next?"

"Nobody's going to bomb Clearwater Lake," Lorraine said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"I didn't think that anyone was going to kill the president today either, and that's what happened," Peggy said. "Has the world gone mad?"

Lorraine didn't know how to answer that one. She climbed into Peggy's car and waved goodbye to Edward, but when Peggy and Lorraine arrived at East Clearwater Lake High School, nobody was there. They spotted Mrs. Horlacher in the parking lot, and Lorraine immediately asked what was going on.

"Have you two heard the news yet?" Mrs. Horlacher asked. "President Kennedy was shot, and we're dismissing everyone early because of it. It's a true national tragedy."

Peggy looked at Lorraine and shrugged. They had clearly wasted our time by coming to East Clearwater High School. "I'll drive you back to Edward's house if you'd like."

"That would be nice, Peggy," Lorraine said.

The two of them hopped back into Peggy's car and returned to Edward's house, keeping the radio on the whole time. Lorraine knocked on the Morrisons' door again and told Edward that East Clearwater Lake High School had let everyone out early. Edward and Lorraine then returned to the living room and watched the news.

In this difficult time, Lorraine was just glad that she had Edward by her side.