Getting It Right
Page 23
"Eat something, girl. You're wasting away."
She tried, but the food stuck in her throat.
On the way to the wake they had stopped so Kara could buy a bouquet of flowers—pink, white, and purple tulips, the ultimate harbinger of spring. She wanted to tell Alex thank you, meet the third sister, and get to know Pigeon. Now that they had arrived, however, she was no longer sure. Why hadn't Alex told everyone who Kara was, acknowledged her existence in the obituary, introduced her to Pigeon as a sister?
Kara closed her eyes. She imagined Alex in the house, mingling with family and friends who Kara didn't know; who didn't know her.
"What do you think?" Danny asked.
They only thing Kara knew for sure was that she had made the right decision about the FBI and Zach—he was out of her life. She'd managed that without turning him in—not to protect Zach, but to be the kind of person she wanted to be. Whatever happened, she'd deal with it when it came.
"I'll go in with you, if you like." Danny was wearing a navy suit she'd never seen, with a blue shirt and purple tie.
She could forgive her father from afar; visit his grave some other time. She knew how to find Alex. There were too many people now, and there was too much to explain. "Not today. Let's go home."
The car zipped past the Lawrence driveway, through the narrow streets, to the highway. Radio music soothed her. Her phone vibrated. She glanced down—it was a text message from Alex.
The End
Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.
—August Wilson
KAREN E. OSBORNE is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, and serves on the board of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. She lives in New York and Florida. Getting It Right is her debut novel.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher.
Published by Akashic Books
©2017 by Karen E. Osborne
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-61775-538-5
eISBN-13: 978-1-61775-562-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016915367
First printing
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