The Long Way Home

by McQuestion, Karen

  And today, they were finally moving back to the house that both she and Troy thought of as home. The movers were scheduled to come at ten that morning. “Moving back to a place where you used to live—does it seem like you’re going backward in life?” Laverne asked, pouring more coffee into Marnie’s mug.

  “Backward? No,” Marnie said. “I might be moving to our old house, but I’m not going backward. I’m definitely moving forward.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Jazzy was going to be late, but this time around she would be late on purpose. Her road trip friends were throwing a surprise going-away party at Marnie’s, although Jazzy wasn’t supposed to know it was a party. The invitation was for dinner with Laverne and Rita. “So you can all see my house and we can say good-bye before you move to New York,” Marnie had said over the phone.

  “Sounds good,” Jazzy said, jotting down the date and time. “Can’t wait to see you guys!” She knew, of course, that there was more to it than Marnie let on. Jazzy’s grandmother had given her a preview, the most detailed vision she’d had to date. In her mind’s eye she saw that Marnie’s house would be festooned with crepe paper and balloons. Above the fireplace would hang a long white banner with gold letters that spelled out, “BON VOYAGE, JAZZY!” The kitchen table would be filled with trays of appetizers and petite desserts, while the countertops would hold warming trays full of meatballs and other hot dishes. A case of champagne would be stored under the table, along with an ice bucket and a box of champagne flutes. This would be saved for the toast at the end of the evening. Jazzy could see the house crowded with people she knew from all the compartments of her life: Mrs. Griswold, the neighbor lady from her childhood home; assorted coworkers from the store, one still wearing his blue vest; the other women from the grief group at the rec center; and various high school friends and their dates. In her preview, she mixed graciously among the guests, wearing a summer dress and strappy sandals, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Troy would be there too, along with Matt Haverman, his best friend since grade school. The boys would mill around, trying to figure out if it was possible to snitch a bottle of champagne without anyone noticing.

  Jazzy also knew that arriving on time would ruin everything. Several of the attendees were going to be a few minutes late, and Marnie would meet guests at the door and ask them to move their cars around the corner. Knowing this, Jazzy had Dylan drop her off a few blocks away, and as she walked to Marnie’s house, she used the extra time to practice looking astonished.

  When she walked up the path to Marnie’s house, she was impressed. The front blinds were drawn, and Rita’s car was in the driveway, but otherwise, nothing gave it away. She rang the doorbell and thought she heard the hushed sounds of a large group of people trying to be quiet. Marnie opened the door breathlessly. “Jazzy!” she said, and embraced her before she was barely across the threshold. “I’m so glad you could make it.” She pulled back and gave her an appraising look. “Don’t you look pretty! You’ll make the rest of us look bad.” Marnie ushered her into the house, chattering nervously about what she was serving for dinner, all of the talk bogus, Jazzy knew, but she played along. “Rita and Laverne are in the kitchen,” Marnie said. “Come along.”

  Jazzy followed obediently, ready to do her surprised look: eyes wide, hand covering her mouth. She’d even practiced saying, “You guys!” while tipping her head modestly to one side.

  Like a compressed slinky, she was ready to let go, but when she got in the kitchen, there was no party. It was only Laverne and Rita, standing at the counter, each holding a glass of wine.

  “You’re late, gal,” Laverne said. “But I’m glad to see you anyway.”

  They greeted her with hugs and compliments, and Jazzy was so confused she didn’t say a word. Finally, she couldn’t help it. “Where is everyone?” she blurted out.

  The other three women looked confused. “We’re all here,” Rita said.

  “Who else were you expecting?” Marnie asked.

  “Well,” Jazzy said, suddenly sheepish, “I thought Troy would be here, and maybe Glenn.”

  “Girls’ night means no boys allowed,” Marnie said firmly, pouring another glass of wine and handing it to Jazzy. “Troy is spending the night at a friend’s house.”

  “And Glenn is enjoying the solitude,” Rita said, an amused smile crossing her face.

  Marnie gave them a tour of the house, and they ate dinner shortly thereafter: pork tenderloin, broccoli casserole, and fresh beet slices. Marnie was a nervous host, jumping up from the table every few minutes to get a pitcher of ice water or “check on things in the kitchen.” At every turn, Jazzy expected a large group of people to jump out and surprise her. By the time the dessert was served she realized it wasn’t going to happen. What had gone wrong?

  “So tell us about your new job,” Rita said to Jazzy.

  Jazzy stopped eating her chocolate cake. Where to begin? She had been reluctant to take this offer when she’d first met Scarlett Turner on their trip, but she’d done a complete reversal since then. Knowing Carson was going to be nearby was a big part of her change of heart. They’d been in constant touch every day since she’d been home and planned to meet up in New York in three days. The wait was killing her. If she had a time machine, she’d jump in and program it to take her three days in the future.

  “Ha, look at her blush!” Laverne said. “She’s thinking about more than just the job.”

  “I am very much looking forward to starting my new job,” Jazzy said primly. “I believe it will provide me with opportunities for personal, professional, and financial growth.”

  The ladies whooped, and Laverne said, “Gal, you are so full of hooey.”

  When the laughter died down, Marnie asked, “So where are you going to be living, then?”

  “With my boss, Scarlett Turner, at first,” Jazzy said. “She’s got a big apartment on Central Park West.”

  “Fancy,” Rita said approvingly.

  What Jazzy didn’t say was that she doubted she’d be living there for long. She needed a place to stay, rent was high in New York, and Scarlett had offered. For now this was the easiest solution. Carson, on the other hand, had a rental arranged for him by his new employer. She had a very strong feeling that eventually they’d be together, but she didn’t want to start out that way. All in good time.

  After dinner, they carried their wine glasses into the living room and exchanged stories about what was new in their lives. Laverne had recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. “Turns out my sleep was constantly being interrupted all night long, even though I didn’t know it. No wonder I was so darn tired all the time.” The solution, she was told, was to wear a CPAP mask at night while she slept. “As if it wasn’t hard enough trying to sleep with this thing strapped to my face,” she said. “My cat, Oscar, likes to sit on my chest and he bats at the air hose, like this.” She illustrated with her cupped hands. “Darn annoying. I finally had to lock him out of my room, and now he cries like a baby.”

  “Oh, don’t be so mean,” Jazzy cried. “Let Oscar play with the medical device.”

  “Maybe you could get him his own CPAP,” Rita suggested.

  “Yeah, that would be one expensive cat toy,” Laverne said.

  The doorbell interrupted the conversation, and Marnie said, “That’s probably a salesperson. I’ll get rid of them.”

  She left the room and Rita said, “It seems like the cable people stop by every week lately, wanting to talk to me about upgrading my plan.”

  When Marnie returned, she wasn’t alone. Trailing shyly behind her was Carson, carrying an enormous bouquet of roses. “Look who showed up,” Marnie said, gleefully extending her arm. The other women jumped up and shouted, “Surprise!”

  “Carson?” Jazzy stood up, stunned but happy. She crossed the room and threw her arms around him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Are you surprised?” Laverne said. “We’ve been planning this for weeks.”

  Speechless,
Jazzy put her palm on his cheek and shook her head in wonder.

  “She’s surprised,” Rita said. “No one could fake that reaction.”

  “I came early to pick you up,” Carson said. “So we can drive to New York together.”

  “But my brother already booked a plane ticket for me,” she said.

  “No, he didn’t,” all the women said in unison, laughing.

  “He didn’t?” Jazzy looked around the room at her friends. “So all of you were in on this? Even Dylan? I can’t believe you pulled one over on me.” Her grandmother’s energy drifted into the room and Jazzy picked up on how pleased Grandma was with herself. Clearly, her grandmother’s surprise-party preview had been a ruse to throw her off her game.

  Good one, Grandma, she thought. You had me completely fooled.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Carson drove the Corolla, while Jazzy was in charge of the GPS, music, and snacks. She thought it was a good arrangement, and he didn’t seem to mind a bit. “Fifteen and a half hours from my house to Manhattan,” she told him.

  “That’s driving time,” he said.

  “Yeah. If you had a bunch of middle-aged women in the car you’d have to add ten more hours for bathroom breaks.”

  “That’s a lot of bathroom breaks.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Carson apparently appreciated Jazzy’s taste in song choices, because he grinned and nodded his head in time to the music as he drove. He wasn’t one of those people who felt the constant need to talk. She could be quiet with him and just enjoy the ride. She needed that.

  The view going east was different from the trip westward she’d taken with the ladies, but the sense of anticipation and new beginnings was the same. At Marnie’s house the other night, she’d planned on telling Rita that Davis would eventually confess to killing Melinda, and that he would get the sentence he deserved. She knew because she’d woken one night from a sound sleep and seen it all in a vision: the courtroom scene with the slamming of the judge’s gavel, and Davis being led off, his head down. She knew other things too—that Troy would live with Marnie all through high school and that Laverne would finally be able to sleep with the CPAP mask on all night. After a few weeks she would be amazed at how much energy she had. “I feel twenty years younger,” she would crow to anyone who would listen.

  Jazzy knew all these things and wanted to share them with her friends, but when she opened her mouth to talk, her grandmother’s spirit advised her to keep it to herself. Let them find out on their own.

  “So, psychic girl,” Carson said, interrupting her thoughts. “Any new predictions? I’d be interested in knowing what you see for the two of us.”

  “For the two of us?”

  “That’s what I said. For the two of us,” he said cheerfully.

  “Hmmm, give me a minute,” Jazzy said, closing her eyes. Almost immediately she saw their lives stretched forward in front of her, a series of road trips. Like a movie in fast-forward she saw it clearly: the two of them driving to the church to get married and then, three years later, a trip to the hospital—Carson driving, Jazzy nine months pregnant and urging him to hurry. Family vacations with one, now two, now three children strapped into car seats in the back of a silver minivan. Visits to friends and family. A collage of driving expeditions to graduations and weddings and births and funerals. “As a matter of fact, I do have a prediction,” Jazzy said, opening her eyes and giving him a smile. “I see us going on a road trip.”

  Ahead of them, a ribbon of concrete stretched endlessly forward. Anything could happen.

  Acknowledgments

  Once again, my eternal gratitude goes to Terry Goodman. He’s a good man and terrific publishing partner, and I really like him too. Maybe someday I’ll drive a convertible and be as cool as Terry. Probably not, though.

  When I think of Amazon Publishing, it’s the people who come to mind. The team has always gone the extra mile for my books, and what author wouldn’t love that? Kudos to the always efficient and personable Jessica Poore. She assures me I’m never a bother, which can’t possibly be true, but I appreciate her saying so. A big thank you to publisher Victoria Griffith, who once said I’m one of her favorite authors. Now my goal in life is to become her absolute favorite. Thanks also to Jeff Belle, whose signature I treasure. I’d like to acknowledge other members of the team including Jacque Ben-Zekry, Sarah Tomashek, Katy Ball, Katie Finch, Brooke Gilbert, Rory Connell, and Nikki Sprinkle. My apologies to anyone I inadvertently excluded. My gratitude is enormous even if my memory is faulty.

  When it comes to this novel, Jeannée Sacken started it all by using the phrase “women on a road trip” in the context of a different conversation. Thanks, Jeannée. I always cherish our talks, but this one was particularly helpful.

  Early readers Geri Erickson, Gail Grenier Sweet, Alice L. Kent, Neve Maslakovic, and Jon Olson gave me valuable feedback and needed reassurance, and I owe them all, big time. Thanks, guys! Your collective wisdom made this a better novel. (And Jon—I really do know the difference between the hood and the trunk of a car. I have no idea how that particular snafu happened. Someone must have snuck in during the night and changed it on me.)

  Charlotte Herscher read every word of the manuscript multiple times, suggested improvements, and caught numerous errors, thus saving me from certain humiliation. She’s an editing wizard, and I’m happy this novel received the benefit of her skill and care. Any remaining mistakes, however, are really and truly mine.

  To Jennifer Williams and Jessica R. Fogleman, copyeditors extraordinaire—thank you for lending your expertise to this book! Your dedication to the written word did not go unnoticed.

  Publicist Kathleen Carter Zrelak is an absolute wonder. She got me past security and in front of a camera at ABC Studios, something I still can’t get over. There’s no one I’d rather have lunch with at the restaurant in the Trump Tower, even if we did have to sit at the bar because we didn’t have reservations.

  I raise a glass to Kimberly Einiger who thinks I’m funny and who also allowed me to use her name for one of my characters. Kim-ber-ly. Three syllables of awesomeness.

  My husband, Greg, always supportive, was particularly so with this book when he did the majority of the driving from Wisconsin to Colorado and back again, in just four days, so I could fact-check some of the more pertinent details. My driving makes him a little nervous, so I suspect he wasn’t being completely altruistic, but that doesn’t diminish the joy of getting to be a passenger for thirty hours. Thanks, Greg!

  I love my kids beyond measure, and I’m lucky they keep me up to date on so many things. Credit goes to Jack, Maria, and Charlie, just for existing, and also for making Mother’s Day the best holiday of all.

  Book bloggers are the unsung heroes of the publishing industry. I’ve been the recipient of many thoughtful reviews, and I don’t take any of them for granted. My thanks to book bloggers everywhere, now and forever.

  And finally, if you’re one of those people who respond to my books, connect with my characters, and enjoy my stories, you have my heart. Because of you, I get to write for a living. I am sending infinite thanks your way. I hope you can feel the love.

  About the Author

  Photo by Greg McQuestion, 2011

  Karen McQuestion writes books for adults as well as for kids and teens. She is a bestselling author on Kindle. Two of her novels placed in the top 100 Customer Kindle books for 2010, based on sales and reader reviews. Originally self-published, she now writes for Amazon Publishing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. McQuestion lives in Wisconsin with her family.

  READING GROUP GUIDE

  The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion

  1) The four women in the book become friends based more on circumstances than commonalities. How likely is this to happen in the real world?

  2) Laverne’s son thought she didn’t leave the house because she was afraid, something she didn’t agree with. Why do you think she became homebound after her husband d
ied?

  3) Is the ending of the novel satisfying? If not, what would you have changed?

  4) Of the four women, which one could you most identify with, and why?

  5) Jazzy’s motto, “Do the thing you long to do and become the person you’re destined to be,” spurs the women in the grief group to share their hopes and dreams. What hopes and dreams have gone unrealized in your life, and why?

  6) If this novel is made into a movie, how would you cast it?

  7) Have you ever gone on a road trip with a group of friends? If so, did the experience bring you closer?

  8) At the beginning of the novel, Marnie suffers from a lack of confidence. By the end of the novel, with help from the group, she’s grown as a person and has taken charge of her life. Where do you see her going from there?

  9) Kimberly seems to lack a maternal instinct. How realistic is this? Do you know any women who fall into this category?

  10) Rita is convinced that the deer are the conduit through which her daughter, Melinda, communicates with her. Do you believe deceased loved ones can send messages to friends and family? Do you have any stories you’d like to share?