The Haunted - Jessica Verday [43]
On impulse I picked up the phone and decided to dial Aunt Marjorie’s number. She answered right away.
“Hey, Aunt Marjorie, it’s me.” I glanced at the clock. “I hope I didn’t interrupt dinner.”
“You didn’t interrupt anything that can’t be heated up later. You know that. It’s good to hear from you. How did the bridge ceremony go?”
“It was okay. There were a lot of people there, but I managed to make it through the whole thing. Other than that I’m just making up some science work with a friend from school who’s tutoring me.”
“They’re making you do more homework?” She sounded outraged, and I smiled. “But the whole time you were here, practically all you did was school stuff.”
“I know. But my science grades really suck. I have to take this big test at the end of summer and pass it, or else I’ll fail for the year.”
“You can do it,” she said. “I have complete confidence in you.” Then she turned serious.
“Summertime is for having fun. Are you having fun, Abbey?” I looked out the window by my desk, thinking hard about my answer. “I don’t know. Saturday was my birthday, and it was hard without Kristen here, you know? But my friend Ben came over; that was kind of awkward. And I just… I don’t know. I have a lot to think about.”
“Oh! I have your birthday card here somewhere. I’m sorry it’s late.”
“Hush,” I said. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“So what’s the real reason for this phone call?” Aunt Marjorie asked.
“I wanted to talk to you about something. You didn’t question why I came to stay with you, and believe me, you’ll never know how grateful I am for that. But what if the reason I had to leave here isn’t valid anymore? What if I’m not as broken as I thought I was? Is that even possible?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying, Abbey. Whatever your reasons were, I’m sure they were valid. That doesn’t mean that things can’t change, get better. Maybe part of realizing where you are now is all because of where you were three months ago.”
“So you think… what? That I had to… experience what I experienced to get better?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Just don’t be too hard on yourself for working through whatever needed to be worked through. You don’t have to carry it around with you forever, you know.”
“How did you get so smart, Aunt Marjorie?”
She laughed. “I can’t tell you all of my secrets. Where’s the fun in that?”
“Okay, okay. I’ll bow to your wisdom and hope to learn your methods one day.”
“That’s what I’m talking ’bout,” she said.
I laughed so hard at that, I had to hold the phone away from my mouth for a second.
“Where did you hear that?”
“From a movie.”
Of course.
“Hey… Aunt Marjorie… what was it like for you?” I asked. “Um… falling in love?” She took my sudden change of topic in stride. “It was exhilarating. And terrifying. The scariest thing I’ve ever done in my whole life. I didn’t know how I could I be so sure.”
“What if you’ve never had a boyfriend before?” I rushed out. “How can you know then?”
“Ahh,” Aunt Marjorie said. “Your friend, hmm?”
“I guess I’m just confused about a lot of stuff right now.” Like how I can be in love with someone who’s dead.
“I’ve always thought that maybe it’s different for everyone,” she said. “But for me, I had to trust my gut. One instant I was seeing your Uncle Gerald as just this good-looking fella, and then bam! It was almost like everything around me slowed down. And I knew.” I knew exactly what she was describing. I felt that same stopping of time around Caspian, too.
“If you had the chance to spend one more hour with Uncle Gerald, knowing that the pain of losing him would happen all over again, would you do it?”
“Without a doubt,” she said. “I’d give anything to have one more minute with him. I’d take him by the hand, look him in the eye, and tell him that I love him.” Her voice broke on the last word, and I felt the ache of tears gathering. Blinking rapidly, I tried not to let them fall.
“Thanks, Aunt Marjorie.” I cleared my throat.