Summer"I emailed you the seating arrangements." Eric Holcomb's deep, penetrating voice boomed over the phone. I leaned back in the computer chair upstairs in my studio-slash-office, pulling up the attachment. Eric was the director at Charlotte's downtown art museum and we were going over the last of the preliminaries for my benefit. This was my fifth year working with him. Eric was a handsome man in his early forties and as hospitable as he was gay. His life mate, Edward, was an accountant at the same firm as my friend Rick. "I got it." I skimmed the attachment. "Looks good, except you seated the mayor next to the school board director. I'd rather not have any arrests at the event."He laughed. "I'll fix that." I listened as he shuffled papers. "The caterer wants to know if you want the same options as last year."I mulled that over. "No. The beef wellington wasn't too popular. The chicken kiev with asparagus spears and roasted potatoes are fine, as we discussed, but add a fish
IanI watched Summer's bedroom light from my window, as I did just about every night since we were fifteen. There wasn't anything to see, just a soft glow through the weeping willow branches from across the two acres between us, but it was habit. My gut tightened as I took a swig of beer, the condensation from the long neck bottle soaking my hand. Pacing my bedroom, I glared at her everywhere I turned. There's been no escape for years now. Stupidly, I'd kept every ridiculous trinket she'd ever bought or made me, even the little ceramic frog she'd done in fifth grade art class. At least, that's what she'd said it was. It didn't look like a frog. Pictures of us as kids, as adults, and our families scattered the dark blue walls. I stared at the one of Tom, Summer, and myself outside her house. There was a pull in my chest as I remembered Tom, lying in bed, too sick to even hold his daughter in the end.Christ. Our lives were like a jacked up version of Dawson's Creek, sans the romance
Fourteen Years Ago-Age TenI should've just stayed home. I knew this was a bad idea. Who needed Girl Scouts anyway? Not me!When my troop had announced a mother/daughter hike through the botanical gardens for Mother's Day, I'd nearly died. After the meeting, my leader, Mrs. Hintz, had told me I should come anyway. That maybe one of the other mothers could go with me. How embarrassing.I was just going to go home after the meeting and hide the permission slip, but Mrs. Hintz called that night and Daddy asked Ian's mom to accompany me. It was really nice of her to say yes, but she wasn't my mother. I didn't have a mother.I glanced up from the craft project we were working on at one of the picnic tables at the garden when one of the girls snickered. The mothers were off having coffee cake and tea while the girls were making them Mother's Day cards. My leader had stepped away to help another table.My hand froze over the cover of my homemade card. What was I supposed to write? The gi
SummerDee sat with me at a small table outside Mel's Café and watched me play with my salad. I pretended not to notice. Eventually, she drew her brows together, dropped her fork, and glared at me. "Out with it. What's wrong?"I sighed. Where to start? "Nothing. I'm sorry. I'm fine." Dee didn't look convinced. "Okay, but don't tell anyone. Got it?"She leaned forward, her eyes round in panic. "Summer, what's going on?"As if expecting someone to approach us, I glanced at the other diners sitting at their tables. No one looked familiar. "My mother showed up at my house the other day."Dee flew back in her chair as if she'd been slapped. "No way. What did she want?""To take my house." I rubbed my forehead, relieved to have it out in the open, and told her everything. A tremendous weight lifted from my chest, my shoulders. I was still sinking rather than swimming, though. Ian's weird behavior, Matt moving here, and my mother's damn visit had been bothering me to no end. I was bar
IanStretched out on Rick's couch after an insane attempt to go golfing, I stewed. The outing hadn't been the distraction I'd been hoping for. "Have you talked to Summer this week? Did she tell you what that asshat Peter said?"Rick eyed me as if to say, finally you start talking. "Peter from the hobby store? The guy who's crushed on her since third grade? No. But it must be interesting if you're mentioning it."I looked over at him, irritation making my temples pound. "I thought you and Summer had this little psychic friends network going.""It's not like that and you know it. I sense things about her, is all. She doesn't dig Peter anyway."I stood. Paced. Made a tight fist until I lost circulation. It felt better than my knotted gut. "Peter asked her if she wouldn't go out with him because I was in love with her.""Observant of Peter to notice."My glare could have melted the arctic. "Funny." I could give a rat's ass what spewed from Peter's mouth. "It was Summer's reaction th
Fifteen Years Ago-Age ThirteenIn moments like this, I wished I had a mom. Most of the time, I told myself I didn't give a hoot whether that woman gave me away and ran as far as she could, that she didn't love me and left me wondering why. Or how there was a hole in my heart which couldn't be filled. But when a girl gets her period for the first time, she just wants her mom. Though it left me feeling stupid and weak, I wanted her. I wanted my mother. She would tell me what to do, not to worry, explain things.We'd gone over it all in school. I'd giggled from my lone perch behind the other girls and rolled my eyes. But now, as I sat on the floor of the bathroom, I wished I'd paid more attention in health class. Panic was threatening to take over, and I fought not to have another attack. My heart beated a mile a minute.Should I tell Daddy? Did he know about this stuff? Maybe I could ask Mrs. Memmer. Ian's mama could help, right? Yes. What other choice was there?I rushed to the ph
IanShe smiled, nailing me right in the chest. "Only joking.""Something tells me he'd be a little upset if he saw us right now." If she were mine, I would tear the other guy's limbs off. "We're not doing anything wrong.""Just the same, I wouldn't want my girlfriend climbing in bed with another guy. Ulterior motives or not.""You don't have a girlfriend. You have girlfriends. Plural."I didn't bother commenting on that. None of them were her."What do you think of Matt moving to Charlotte?" Her tone was so tentative I knew she wasn't completely comfortable with the idea. Not for the first time, I wondered why she was with him, other than companionship. They didn't seem to have any chemistry.Despite the fear she didn't feel the same way about me, I cared too much about her to admit the truth before. I was the only family she had left. I'd been her quiet protector, her sounding board, her supporter, and shoulder to cry on. If she were to lose me, literally or metaphorically, i
IanI woke from a fitful slumber to some ingrate pounding on my back door. Grousing from little sleep, I reluctantly hauled my ass out of bed and downstairs to let Rick and Dee in. Rick gave me a once-over. "Man, we've been pounding for ten minutes."I groaned in response. Mornings sucked. Morning people sucked harder.Rick followed me upstairs, leaving Dee mumbling something about breakfast.I sat on the side of my bed and rubbed the grit out of my eyes."You look like crap. I'm driving today." Rick lifted his eyebrows as if I'd explain my dismal state."I didn't sleep well." "What's the matter with you? It's Fourth of July week. Vacay. Seasmoke. Beach, sun, sand.""I kissed Summer last night."Rick froze like a comical cartoon and dropped beside me on the bed."I told her we'd talk about it at Seasmoke. She high-tailed it out of here faster than a blink." I lay back on the bed, covering my face with my arm. My chest felt ready to explode all over my bedroom walls from th