A Season for Goodbye

by Lurlene McDaniel

  As the doors opened, a woman stepped off, almost colliding with Katie. “Oops,” the woman said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to knock you over.” She extended her hand and Katie shook it, noticing that the woman, though tall and attractive and athletic-looking, had only one arm. “Kimbra Patterson. I’ve come to help with sports and physical fitness.”

  Inadvertently, Katie’s gaze went to the empty sleeve. She blushed furiously when Kimbra said, “Don’t let this fool you—I’m pretty athletic without it. I lost my arm to cancer when I was fourteen, so I’ve learned to make do without it. I play a pretty mean game of tennis.” She grinned. “How about you? Would you like to meet me on the courts some morning?”

  “I’ve never played much tennis,” Katie said.

  “No problem. That’s why I’m here—to help anybody learn who wants to. And Mr. Holloway thought I’d be an inspiration because so many kids with health problems think they’re handicapped for sports and they’re not.”

  Katie thought of Chelsea, whose heart problems had robbed her of a normal life. “Maybe my friends and I might give you a match,” Katie said.

  A quick smile from Kimbra, and, “Good. Now, don’t let me keep you. You look as if you were in a hurry.”

  “I am. I don’t want to be late for the meeting.” She started into the elevator. “By the way, my name’s Katie.”

  “I know who you are.”

  “You do?” Katie halted the door from closing. “How do you know me?”

  “You are one of the people who’ve received Wish money.”

  “Yes. Did you?”

  Kimbra smiled. “Let’s just say I knew all about One Last Wish before it ever became One Last Wish.”

  “But how—”

  “We’ll talk later.” Kimbra backed away. “I don’t want to make you late.”

  Alone on the elevator, Katie puzzled over the friendly but mysterious Kimbra. What had she meant? Things sure are different this summer, she told herself. Now, if she could just get things sorted out with Josh. Recalling Josh and their argument made Katie sigh. What she really wanted this summer was to be around her friends. And take time to think about her future. Josh shouldn’t have invited himself to come help out at Jenny House.

  It wasn’t going to be easy to make decisions about her tomorrows with him trying to persuade her to his way of thinking. Katie hurried to her room, foreing everything out of her mind except the idea of a hot shower and the meeting ahead of her. She also had a job to do at Jenny House. Just like last summer. Kids were coming who might not even be alive in another year’s time. Katie was determined to help out every way she could.

  And because Josh had helped give her a second chance at living, she promised herself that she would be good to him. Because she loved him. And she owed him. Big time.

  Three

  “WHICH ONE SHOULD I wear?” Lacey asked, holding up two equally trendy outfits for Chelsea to evaluate. Her friend had stretched out on one of the beds in Lacey’s room.

  “Jeez—it’s only a get-acquainted meeting. What does it matter what you wear?” Suitcases and duffel bags, clothes spilling out, were strewn across every flat surface. Chelsea had put her things away in less than thirty minutes and come into Lacey’s room in order to prod her along.

  “It matters,” Lacey said with a toss of her silky blond hair. “Jeff will be there and I want him to see me at my best.”

  Chelsea puckered up her face. “What’s the big deal? He’s already nuts about you.”

  “Um—that might not be the case,” Lacey admitted, holding the pieces against her body and checking herself out in the bureau mirror.

  Chelsea sat upright. “What do you mean? I thought you and he were Siamese twins. What haven’t you told me?”

  “I sort of blew it between us this past school year. When he transferred to the University of Miami in January, he tried to start things up between us, but I acted stupid and dumped him.”

  “Why?”

  “Temporary insanity.” Lacey tossed one of the outfits on the bed and slipped into the bathroom to dress. She continued her story through the half-closed bathroom door. “Actually, I thought I liked some jerk in my school, but Todd was a real waste of time. Honestly, it wasn’t even Todd that I wanted as much as the chance to be in the right crowd and forget all about my diabetes.”

  Lacey emerged from the bathroom and rummaged through a makeup kit sitting atop the bureau. “As you may remember, I’ve never been a fan of having diabetes.”

  “That’s an understatement.” Chelsea recalled the belligerent Lacey from the previous summer and how she hated being forced to come to Jenny House. And although she had finally become friends and had fun at the House, Lacey’s dislike of her disease hadn’t improved when she returned home. “Is that why you messed up your control and ended up in the hospital?” Chelsea asked. “Trying to impress Todd and his friends?”

  “Listen, I’ve spent hours with a shrink at the Diabetes Research Institute and I’ve learned that Todd was only one part of my screwy outlook. My warring parents were in the picture too.”

  “Void now that they’re divorced, things are all right?”

  “As good as they’ll ever be.” Lacey waved her hand impatiently. “It’s old news. I only know that one day I woke up and realized that Jeff was what I wanted.”

  “And now you’re telling me that he’s no longer interested in you? It didn’t seem that way in the lobby. I mean, the two of you drove together all the way from Miami.”

  “A trip of polite togetherness. Very brotherly.” Lacey made a face. “He doesn’t trust me not to dump him again.”

  “Because he’s a hemophiliac?” Chelsea remembered Lacey’s aversion to every kind of illness—not just her own.

  “I guess that’s part of it.”

  “Well, how do you feel? What would you do if he had to go in for transfusions?”

  “I wouldn’t walk out on him,” Lacey insisted. But Chelsea wasn’t absolutely convinced. Lacey had a mind of her own and she did what she wanted, even if it hurt someone’s feelings.

  “Is that why you decided to help out at Jenny House this summer? Just to be near Jeff?”

  Lacey whirled. “Chelsea, what a mean thing to say! I came because I really want to help.”

  Chelsea’s face reddened. “I didn’t mean to imply you had an ulterior motive.”

  “Also, I came because I wanted to spend time with you and Katie. And because I didn’t want to hang around home all summer with nothing to do while Mom works. Plus she’s dating some guy, so I thought I’d give her a break and stay out of her way. She’ll have a better time without worrying about tripping over me.”

  Lacey smiled and flapped her eyelashes. “But I won’t lie—Jeff’s working here is an additional perk for me. Enough about me. How’s your love life?”

  Chelsea laugh mirthlessly. “What love life?” She sighed and stretched back onto the bed. “I thought that once I got my transplant and started attending school regularly, I’d be a regular person. But during the school year I discovered that everybody already had best friends. And ran with certain crowds. No matter how hard I tried, I felt like an outsider all year long. I learned that there wasn’t any place for me. Especially with the guys.”

  “How about Jillian’s brother? What was his name? I remember you liked him.”

  “DJ,” Chelsea supplied. “He lives in Texas, and besides things were always awkward between us—especially after I got the transplant and his sister died.” She didn’t add that DJ already had a girlfriend and hadn’t even noticed Chelsea’s existence except for when his sister forced him to interact with her.

  “But that wasn’t your fault.”

  “Let’s just drop it, all right? I’ll never see DJ again anyway.” It pained Chelsea to say it, but she knew it was true. All the years she was sick, she’d kept to herself, with her parents, tutors, and books being her main source of friendships. Coming to Jenny House last summer had been the best change. A worl
d she’d never been able to be a part of before had opened up. Then, living with Katie and her family in Michigan, and meeting Jillian in the transplant program, had made her have hope. Getting the heart transplant and surviving had given Chelsea a brand-new life. Her crush on DJ had been especially thrilling. Then Jillian had died. Chelsea wasn’t completely over the loss of her friend even now—months afterward.

  “Things will improve for you next school year,” Lacey said as she put on lipstick. “And who knows? Maybe you’ll meet someone here this summer.”

  Chelsea doubted it. But it wasn’t going to be easy hanging around with Lacey and Katie when they both had boyfriends. She sighed, feeling again like an outsider. “Where is Katie anyway? She should have been back from that run by now.”

  “I saw Josh take off after her. I’m sure they had some things to iron out,” Lacey said.

  “What things? Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise. I mean, Katie and Josh are an institution.”

  Lacey busied herself with brushing her already perfectly sleek hair. “Did I say there was trouble?”

  Chelsea wasn’t reassured. And she felt even more isolated. When she’d lived with Katie they’d talked about everything. But once she’d returned home, letters and occasional phone calls were all they’d had to bridge the distance. Obviously, something had happened between Josh and Katie that Lacey knew about and that Katie had failed to share with Chelsea. “I noticed some bad vibes between them in the lobby. What gives?”

  Lacey never had a chance to answer because Katie swept into the room, her hair still damp from her shower. “Are you two ready?” she asked breathlessly. “We don’t want to be late.”

  “Says who?” Lacey asked. “I think we should make a grand entrance.”

  “I think we should be on time,” Katie countered.

  Chelsea slid off the bed and stood between her two friends. “Incredibly, after forty-five minutes of nonstop effort, Lacey really is ready. And we were just wondering where you were. Come on, both of you, follow me.”

  Lacey took one final glance in the mirror and the three of them headed downstairs. In the lobby, a small crowd of staff, counselors, and kids in training to be counselors were gathered on the sofas and folding chairs in front of the fireplace. Richard Holloway, the director, stood in front of the massive stone hearth. Chelsea thought that he looked like a male model, tall, slim, and blond with impeccable clothing. Above him hung the massive painting of Jenny Crawford, the woman who started the One Last Wish Foundation and, according to Katie, Mr. Holloway’s one true love.

  “Welcome,” Mr. Holloway said with a dazzling smile. “The pizza’s waiting down in the rec room, so I’ll make these comments brief.”

  A couple of boys clapped. Chelsea saw Josh standing with Jeff and wondered again what was going on.

  Mr. Holloway continued. “We have lots of new faces. Several who were attendees last year have returned to help others have a fun summer and I’m pleased about that. We’ll break into small groups after we eat. Each group will be made up of a staff member, a returning counselor, and some new faces. Questions are welcome.”

  He placed his hands in his trouser pockets. “This year, we’ll be taking on some attendees with specific medical problems—kids still taking chemo, which the medical staff will administrate. But some of you will have one of these chemo kids in your rooms and so you’ll need specific instructions and details.”

  Beside her, Chelsea heard Lacey suck in her breath and instantly knew the problem. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’m sure they won’t give one of them to us first-timers.”

  Mr. Holloway discussed the ideals and purposes of Jenny House and was almost ready to move the group downstairs when the lobby door swung open and a muscular boy wearing cowboy boots and a Stetson hat rushed inside. “Sorry I’m late,” he said in an unmistakable Texan drawl. “My flight’s been circling the airport and didn’t land on time.”

  “DJ Longado, welcome,” Mr. Holloway said. “Everybody, this young man has volunteered to be in charge of the stables this summer. He’ll be giving riding lessons and leading trail rides.”

  Chelsea barely heard the introduction. Her pulse had started pounding and all the blood had left her face. DJ Longado. The last person in the world she expected to ever see again.

  Four

  “WELL, WHAT DO you know …” Lacey said, leveling a look at Chelsea when the group broke up for pizza. “And to think we were just talking about dear ole DJ. This sort of puts a new twist on your summer, doesn’t it?”

  Chelsea hung back, ignoring Lacey’s needling.

  “Give her a break,” Katie said. Chelsea had discussed her feelings about DJ with Katie while she’d been recovering from her transplant operation, and so Katie was the one who understood how difficult seeing DJ was on Chelsea.

  “What’s the big deal?” Lacey asked. “If you like this guy, go after him.”

  “It’s not that easy,” Chelsea declared. “I—I’m not pretty and boys never notice me.”

  “I can fix that,” Lacey insisted. “Remember how makeup improved Amanda? I can fix you up—”

  “I’m not one of your makeovers, Lacey,” Chelsea interrupted, stamping her foot.

  “Well, excuse me. I was just trying to be helpful. You don’t have to bite my head off.”

  Katie put her hand on Lacey’s shoulder and gave her a gentle nudge. “Go on down and save us some pizza before Josh and Jeff eat their share and ours too. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Lacey swished off and Katie turned to Chelsea. “Come on. It’ll be okay.”

  “No way. I can’t go down there and face DJ.”

  “Why?”

  “I—I’m embarrassed. Jillian probably told him I had a thing for him. I can’t look him in the face.”

  “You can’t avoid him all summer either.”

  “I keep remembering the last time I saw him, at the hospital. I felt so awful. I’d had the transplant, but Jillian couldn’t get hers. I’ll never forget the look DJ gave me. Like—like he hated me.”

  “That’s not true,” Katie said quickly. “His sister was dying. He just felt helpless. It had nothing to do with you.”

  Chelsea wasn’t so sure. But Katie was right about not being able to avoid him all summer. They were both there together and sooner or later their paths would cross. “I never liked horseback riding anyway,” Chelsea sighed. “I’ll stay away from the stables altogether.”

  “You can’t. Remember, we’re supposed to ride up the ridge to the memorial we made for Amanda. I want to see if the photo’s still there and if Jillian’s earring is gone.” Katie bent closer. “Maybe the fairies took it.”

  Chelsea smiled at Katie’s attempt to perk her up. “I do want to go up there.”

  “Well, you can’t go with us unless you check out a horse from the stable.”

  “You and Lacey could check one out for me and I could meet you farther up the trail.” Chelsea gazed at Katie hopefully.

  “We won’t do it.”

  “I’d do it for you.”

  “I have an idea. Why don’t you march right down to the rec room, go right up to DJ, give him your biggest smile, and tell him hello.”

  Chelsea shrank back. “I couldn’t.”

  “Sure you can. Don’t you know the best way to get over a rough spot is to face it head-on? I do it all the time when I compete. When I know I’ll be facing an especially strong opponent, I walk up to her, smile, and say, ‘Good luck.’ ” Katie chuckled. “It unnerves them. But taking the initiative gives me an edge. It’ll work for you too.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “No, you’re just nervous. I remember when you were afraid to do anything that made your heart beat faster. But you’ve come such a long way since last summer—why, you’ve made it through countless games of Virtual Reality and survived a heart transplant. Don’t go back to that scaredy-cat mode. Especially over some guy.”

  Reluctantly, Chelsea followed Kat
ie down to the rec room, where the aroma of hot pizza permeated the air. Other kids were friendly to her, but she was so jittery she almost dropped her slice of pizza. Yet, once she’d regained control of the paper plate, she screwed up her courage and walked over to where DJ was sitting alone at a video game console. “Hi,” she said brightly. “Remember me?”

  “You’re Chelsea,” he said, but his gaze looked wary and not very friendly. “How’re you doing?”

  Her knees felt rubbery, so she sat at the tabletop console in the chair opposite him. “I’m doing fine. How about you?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “And your mom and dad?”

  “They’re all right too.”

  Chelsea felt as if he was forcing himself to talk to her and she was dismayed. Why didn’t he like her? She’d tried so hard to be nice to him. And she cared so much about him. “It’s nice of you to come and help out here this summer,” she said, trying again to be friendly. “It’ll be good to have somebody who knows one end of a horse from the other.” She ventured a smile.

  “I came because I promised my sister I would,” DJ said. “And a promise is a promise.”

  “You’re doing this as a favor to Jillian?”

  “Yeah. Something wrong with that?”

  Chelsea felt her face flush crimson. “Oh, no! Of course not. It’s just that … well … I wonder why she wanted you to.” Her words came out quickly, then trailed off, like air running out of a balloon.

  “Because she couldn’t do it herself,” DJ said tersely. He stood. “She’ll never get to do any of the things she liked to do again. She’ll never ride her horse, or finish school, or even grow up. She wanted to do all those things, you know.”

  “I—I know. She left me a videotape—”