I encourage you to read Part 1 before reading any further. But do what you will  

The boy stopped and looked back at the group. He seemed frozen and didn’t respond to the man in the chair. The girl knew she needed to act fast if she was going to get answers to all the questions she had.

Stepping away from the group she blurted frantically “HI Brian! Why do you sit in that chair?”

The man looked at her and blinked once before answering ‘cause I like being outside’. He dropped his eyes and fidgeted in his chair. She wondered why he seemed to not pay attention when spoken to. Almost like he was scared to speak.

The girl smiled and looked back at the group, who at that moment shared looks of unease. Her smile faltered. She turned her attention back to the man and was able to notice a few things about him;

The man in the chair was wearing jeans and a gray tee shirt that announced a sort of allegiance to MTV. He was of average weight with slightly long reddish hair. He wore a ball cap that read: * Iowa Steel* written in gold against black mesh. The bill was wider then the hat.

She wanted to know more.

“How old are you?” she asked.

He looked up into the sky over her left shoulder as if searching for the answer. ‘I am 32 years old and will have another birthday this year.’ He looked her in the eyes, smiled and said ‘I like birthdays’!

He emphasized this by lifting himself up using the arms of his chair and then falling back into the seat. He ended his delight by swinging his legs out and then back in, smiling the whole time. His gaze dropped to the rosebush in the corner of the yard.

This last movement by the man made the boy who took the dare move back to the group.  The group, who through whispers and quick debate,  had elected someone to speak up pushed the chosen one closer to the girl and in a quiet voice he pleaded ‘hey, lets get going’.