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the library, where we just had lunch.”
    As we walked back through the kitchen, I opened one of the drawers. “Here’s where the can openers are,” I said. “And here’s the timer on top of the stove.”
    â€œI think I’ll take a can opener with me,” said Dinah. I nodded.
    We bounded up the steps and I unlocked the door, making sure the button was all the way out. “It’s all set,” I told her.
    â€œThanks,” said Dinah.
    As we approached the trail, I pointed in the other direction. “See that light green house with the dark shutters? That’s where I live. It’s about two miles away by car, but hardly a minute’s walk through the grass.”
    We walked back toward the library in perfect stride. This time we took the trail all the way around to the front of the library where my bike was parked.
    â€œThe library’s closed tomorrow,” Dinah reminded me.
    â€œThen I’ll meet you outside the back door of the church around 3:00. There’s never anyone around on Sunday afternoons.” I hesitated. “Do you want me to bring you something to eat?”
    â€œThat’s okay … I’ve got cans of stuff to open, and I can pick up some bread outside the bakery at closing time. Thanks for lunch, though. And for a safe place to sleep tonight.”

Six
    T HAT NIGHT , AS I was lying in bed, I searched my mind. Mark’s steady breathing was pacing my flow of thoughts.
Inhale—exhale. Inhale—exhale. Di—nah. Di—nah.
There was a Dinah in the Bible. I pulled my flashlight out from under my bed and began leafing through the Old Testament. There she was. Genesis, Chapter 34.
Dinah and the Shechemites. Shechemites. Sounds like they’re checking for bugs
. I began reading: “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.”
    â€œWhoa!” Dinah’s voice from this afternoon echoed through my brain. He
violated
her. I read the entire chapter about Dinah. Turns out Shechem actually loved Dinah, but her brothers were mad about the whole thing. They tricked Shechem into thinking hecould marry Dinah as long as he and all of his men agreed to be circumcised. Shechem agreed, but after they all got circumcised and were in too much pain to fight, Dinah’s brothers killed them all.
    I remember when Johnny came home from the hospital. The first time I saw Mom changing his diaper I asked her what was wrong with his dobby. (That’s what Mom calls it. Boys have dobbies, and girls have mollygobblers.) “The doctor circumcised Johnny,” Mom told me.
    â€œWhy?” I asked, trying to figure out what the word meant.
    â€œSo it’s easier to keep him clean,” Mom explained.
    â€œAm I circumcised?” I asked.
    â€œAll of my boys are circumcised,” Mom said. But I don’t remember it. I guess it’s a good thing, because I bet if you remember it, it really hurt.
    I turned back to Genesis. Funny—there’s nothing else about Dinah. Nothing about how it felt to be violated. Or whether she decided she loved Shechem, too, after the whole violation thing. Or how she felt about her brothers killing him. Their father Jacob wasn’t too happy about it. He thought all of the Canaanites would be mad and destroy his whole family.
    My family says the Bible has all the answers. So why did it always leave me with more questions?
    Last March when Dad was away on a mission trip, Grandpa gave the Sunday sermon. The title in the bulletin was, “The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth.” I tried to pay attention because Grandpa always liked to discuss his sermons. Mostly he just talked about the Bible being the Word of God.
    Afterward at dinner he asked Mom, “So what did you think of the sermon?”
    â€œIt’s