“It’s cool,” I said. And it was.
Papi hugged Jack and Josie together and then grabbed Harrison’s arm. “I heard your speech from the parking lot. Fantastic job. If only I could’ve seen the principal’s face when you quoted my princesa.”
Harrison shrugged. “I didn’t turn around.”
“How do you know he was quoting me?”
Mami laughed and slipped her arms around me. “You are my hero, Dayanita,” she said.
“Even if I didn’t take out my eyebrow piercings?”
“They have begun to grow on me.”
“I see what this is. Reverse psychology.” We both suddenly noticed that Jack and Josie were right next to us.
“Your parents would be so proud,” said Mami. “I know I am.” She hugged Jack and then stood face-to-face with Josie. I was ready to step in and referee if I had to. “Anything you need, I’m here. Your mother was a special person and I would never try to…” Josie reached out and embraced my mother. Neither of them said another word.
Papi broke the moment, calling for attention as he took out his phone. “Okay, graduates, stand together with each other for a picture. We weren’t sure this day would happen. We need proof.” I stood between Jack and Harrison, our shoulders touching. In front of us Josie and Archie were arm in arm.
“Are we ready?” asked Papi.
“Wait,” I said. “Should we show them off?”
Mami looked alarmed. “Oh no. Show what?”
“I think we have to,” said Josie. “Especially since we’ve learned I wasn’t supposed to do it in the first place.”
“It’s fine,” said Jack. “Stop worrying.”
“Okay,” I said gently. “When we were all down in the Caribbean, we decided we needed to … bring something home to remember the experience. So before we left we each got a little memento of our time together.”
“Let’s just do it,” said Jack. “On three. Explain later.”
Papi held up his phone. “Okay then … Everybody smile. One … two…”
Just before Papi snapped the picture, we all pulled up the sleeves of our graduation gowns and held up our right arms to show off our matching tattoos. There, on the inside of each of our forearms, was a small, winking yellow sun.
JACK
I wasn’t used to planning a party without Josie. I lifted heavy things and she did the heavy lifting. I didn’t decide on food or music or decorations. Josie wouldn’t let me near anything that mattered. But with Josie otherwise occupied, it came down to me to make this worthy of a Josie Clay production. Thankfully, I’d made it home in time from basic training in South Carolina. I thought I’d have a week to plan this thing, but like Harrison said, plans don’t always work out. It all went down a lot faster than we expected.
In a couple of months, I’d be headed for medic training in Texas. But for now, I was happy to be home, where I could spend time with Josie. Even if I’d forgotten how freakin’ cold New Jersey could be in December. Josie and I had decided to hold off on selling the house. She and Archie and Lucas were settling in. Even without Mom and Dad, this was home for both of us.
When our acceptance letters came from Rutgers a couple of months before graduation, college didn’t feel right to me. I couldn’t imagine myself going to football games, sitting in a library, or pledging a frat. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do until I bumped into an army recruiter in the school parking lot. We started talking and it suddenly all made sense. I didn’t want to fight, but I wanted to help. I signed up to be an army medic a week later. Basic training was hard as hell, but I’d been through worse. And I loved the discipline. I loved having a purpose.
But now my purpose was to get this house in shape for guests. The last party we’d thrown here was supposed to be the biggest our school had ever seen. Josie’s mission was to make it perfect. It didn’t work out that way.
I straightened the couch and moved the ottoman to reveDedication-dedal a dark spot on the rug. A year after the party there were still scratches on the floor, stains on carpets, remnants, reminders. That party left permanent scars on our house and our family. This party was another step toward healing them.
Dayana and Harrison showed up carrying soda and plastic cups. She saluted me as Harrison handed me the drinks.
“How’s school?” I asked him.
“It’s good,” said Harrison. “I’m applying to transfer for next semester.”
“Harvard pre-med?”
“Brown. But I’ll still visit Mack up there a lot. And I haven’t decided on a major yet.”
Dayana gave him a punch in the gut. “He’s our little rebel.”
I started to spread out the drinks when I realized, “Ice! We don’t have ice!”
“Ease up, Sergeant,” said Dayana. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” I said, remembering the lessons Josie drilled into me. “Every detail matters.”
Harrison said he’d text Mackenzie and have her bring a couple of bags. Crisis averted. Was it good enough? Did I pull it off? “What do you think?” I asked.
Dayana took it all in. “You know, I’ve never officially been invited to one of these. Crashed one once. It’s not quite a Josie Clay joint, but it’ll do.”
I hoped so. I wanted it to be perfect for her. For all of them. The guests started to arrive in small groups. Grandma and Grandpa. Archie’s aunt and uncle. Nelson and Vanesa. Friends. Family. They slowly filled the living room with noise. I knew some of them were less supportive of Jo and Archie than others, but I didn’t care. The music was playing and the drinks were flowing when we heard a car drive up.
“It’s them,” Lucas called. “They’re here!”
Everybody stood by the front and waited. I opened the door, and Josie walked in to a chorus of cheers and applause. I took her coat, her hat, and her scarf and she ruffled my buzz cut.
“I love coming home and seeing you here,” she said. She looked tired, but beautiful and happy. “Thank you all for being here. And now it is my pleasure to present the guest of honor. It took him seventeen hours to arrive, but I think you’ll agree it was worth it. Celebrating his third day on this planet, Clay Phillip Gallagher!”
Archie entered, carrying my baby nephew in a car seat. My nephew. He already looked bigger than he did in the hospital. A collective Awwww went through the room. I reached in and stuck my finger in Clay’s tiny hand and let him squeeze it. Three days old and the kid already had a killer grip.
“There’s only one?” I teased. “Everybody knows you’re supposed to bring two babies home.”
“One was plenty,” said Josie, unbuckling him from the seat.
I couldn’t believe he was real. He had Josie’s eyes; Mom’s eyes. He was seven pounds nine ounces and he was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen.
“You did good, Soul.”
“I like to think so, Heart.”
I moved onto the couch and put my arm around her. “Maybe later we hit the piano for a duet?”
“We’ll see. I’m a little tired.”
“From what?”
She smiled at me.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said.
Josie looked up at me. “You said that to me the day of Daddy and Mom’s memorial service. I was on my bed and you were trying to get me up.”
“I didn’t know you heard me.”
“I heard. I always hear you. You were right, by the way.”
I was sitting on the couch holding the baby when Archie came over, planted a kiss on his head, and shook my hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” I said. “Now, you know I’m not gonna be around all the time, so I need you to do me a favor. I want you to make sure my nephew knows about his grandparents. All four of them. And Archie … take care of our girl.”
“You know I will.”
“Yeah.”
Josie led Dayana and Harrison over to take their turns holding the baby. We all sat there together and star
ed down at baby Clay Phillip Gallagher. I know they say newborns can’t really see much, but I swear he was looking up at us. If he was, I hoped that he would see the five of us and know that we were his family and that we always would be.
It was the best party we’d ever thrown.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In The Year They Fell, Josie is suffering from the after-effects of sexual assault. And like many survivors, she feels all alone.
Sexual assault is any sexual interaction or conduct that takes place without the consent of everybody involved. If this happens between people who know each other, between people who are in a romantic or sexual relationship, or even between people who previously consented to be intimate as recently as a second earlier, it is still sexual assault.
Sexual assault includes rape, attempted rape, forced or coerced sexual activity, and unwanted sexual touch. These are just examples; no definition can encompass every survivor’s experience of sexual assault.
If you’ve experienced sexual assault and you want to talk to someone about it, here are a few resources:
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the largest organization in the United States dedicated to anti-sexual violence initiatives. You can call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (or 1-800-656-4673). You can also talk to someone online at online.rainn.org.
• The VictimConnect Resource Center (run by the National Center for Victims of Crime) provides crime victims with resources for learning about their legal rights and options for next steps. You can call VictimConnect at 1-855-4-VICTIM (or 1-855-484-2846). You can also talk to someone online at chat.victimconnect.org.
If someone you know has been sexually assaulted and they tell you about it, listen to them, believe them, and help them get the resources they want and need. Anyone can be part of a support network for survivors, helping to dismantle the culture of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Listen to survivors and encourage others to listen, too.
And if, like Josie and her friends, you are mourning the death of a loved one, struggling with depression, or simply feeling lost, it’s important that you tell someone else how you’re feeling. A parent, a friend, or someone at school can help you find support. If you don’t want to talk to someone you know, there are many services that provide free, confidential help. One well-known provider is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Its toll-free number is 1-800-273-8255, and its website is SuicidePreventionLifeline.org. You can also reach out by text to the Crisis Text Line for free, 24/7 support (in the United States). Just text 741741; a live, trained Crisis Counselor will receive the text and respond quickly.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Like Dayana, Archie, Josie, Jack, and Harrison, I have learned that the world can be a scary, complicated, and confusing place, but it’s a whole lot better with the right mix of people around to support you. I owe an ocean of thanks to everyone in my life who made this book possible. I may not have met you all when we were four years old, but you are my own personal Sunnies.
I could write an entire book about my agent and friend, the inspiring and heroic Marietta Zacker. You loved this story from the moment I hit you with a two-minute pitch at the food truck festival in South Orange and you have been its tireless champion ever since. I know the Sunnies themselves are as dear to your heart as they are to mine and you’ve never stopped fighting for them to be seen and heard in the world. Can’t wait to get our matching tattoos.
Thanks as well to Marietta’s partner Nancy Gallt and colleague Erin Casey for keeping me honest and always being a great sounding board.
Thank you to my insightful and sensitive editor, John Morgan. You made this a better book in every way, guiding and protecting the story and helping the characters become even more of who they were meant to be.
Many thanks to the wonderful Erin Stein and the entire team at Imprint and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. I’ve been so impressed with your vision and care at every step of this process.
To the endlessly creative Benee Knauer, you helped me take this from an idea and a few chapters to a fully realized novel. You always pushed me to go deeper and to find the heart of the story. Your influence is on every page of this book.
Cindy Kanegis, you helped me find my focus and keep my eye on the finish line. Scott Miller, thank you for your hard work and belief in this project.
Mark and Rachel Calveric; Alisa and Dan Cohen; Steve Horowitz and Cathy Roma and Patrick Henigan, none of whom were harmed in the making of this book—you are my peeps, my travel companions, my tribe, the greatest group of friends anyone could ever ask for. We got off a plane from St. Martin a million years ago and I said, “I think I have an idea.” Love you all. Beth El preschool forever!
Much gratitude to my podcast partners in crime, Ben Strouse and Chris Tarry. I’m proud to have my book on the office coffee table next to yours.
My two oldest friends—pre-preschool—gave me some much needed guidance in the writing of this book. Steve O’Hagan, thanks for the criminal law expertise and, more importantly, for being the large, situationally aggressive older brother I never had and desperately needed. Meredith Frankel, my friend since birth, my friend for life. I can’t tell you how much your love and support have meant to me. I am so lucky to have you.
Thank you to fellow authors and Guiding Light alumni Jenelle Lindsay, Josh Sabarra, Danielle Paige, and Rebecca Hanover for your advice and inspiration. And to my pals Matt Savare and Tom Means, for always being on Team Kreizman.
Natalia Feigin, thanks for sharing your personal story with me. Nancy Donoghue, thanks for the use of your Pocono retreat so this father of three could spend some time writing in rare solitude.
To my brilliant little cousin, Maris Kreizman, who was killing it in the literary world long before I put a toe in the water. You may not have realized it at the time, but you talked me through a crisis of story faith that helped shape what the book became.
Thank you to the world’s best in-laws, David and Arlene Katzive. You have lived a life full of art and books and culture. Thanks for sharing it with me, Tash, and the kids.
To my amazing parents, who didn’t know I was writing this book until after I sold it. Mom and Dad, sorry for keeping it a secret, and thank you for not freaking out too much when I said I wanted to be a writer but had no idea how to make a living doing it. You gave me a love of reading and writing when I was barely more than a preschooler. Try to leave a few books on the shelves for everyone else.
Dashiell, Fiona, and Oliver, you were never far from my mind while I was writing this. Thank you for inspiring me, for keeping me up-to-date on current slang, and for being understanding when Daddy marches up to the third floor to pound away at the keyboard. I love you guys.
And finally, to my wife, Natasha, who read this first and never stopped believing in it and in me. Tash, you’re the single biggest reason that this novel exists. I share it—and everything else great in my life—with you, always.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Kreizman is the cocreator and head writer of the hit middle-grade audio program The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, winner of a 2016 Peabody Award. As Chief Creative Officer at Gen-Z Media, he oversees the development and production of more than a dozen original scripted audio projects for kids and tweens. Previously he led the writing teams of Guiding Light, All My Children, As the World Turns, and World Wrestling Entertainment, winning two Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild Awards in the process. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife and three kids. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1. Dayana
2. Archie
3. Jack
4. Josie
5. Harrison
6. Archie
7. Dayana
8. Josie
9. Jack
10. Harrison
11. Archie
12. Dayana
13. Josie
14. Jack
15. Harrison
16. Josie
17. Archie
18. Dayana
19. Josie
20. Archie
21. Jack
22. Harrison
23. Josie
Epilogue
Dayana
Jack
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
A part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
120 Broadway, 25th floor, New York, NY 10271
fiercereads.com
Copyright © 2019 by David Kreizman.
All rights reserved.
The Curse of the Sunnies:
Steal this book and be permanently unfriended.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
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Book design by Elynn Cohen
Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First hardcover edition, 2019
eBook edition, July 2019
eISBN 9781250179869
The Year They Fell Page 28
