“Nana, look!”
Mother gasps as we glance in the direction Erin points.
At the side of the house sits the only one of Daddy’s rose bushes the new owners didn’t pull up. Barren from neglect the last time we were here, it’s now covered in snow. And in the center of the frosty white bush, as lush and beautiful as if it were spring, blooms one perfect yellow rose.
“Harry…” Mother whispers, and I turn to see tears streaming down her cheeks. She opens the van door and climbs out.
Through our own tears, Erin and I watch her walk across the snow-covered lawn toward the bush, then bend forward to smell my father’s last flower.
CHAPTER 26
From The Desk of
Belle Lamont
Dear Harry,
Thank you.
From the first moment we met, I loved you, and I never stopped. I will always remember our wonderful years together. I will never forget you.
Goodbye, my love.
As always, your yellow rose,
Belle
CHAPTER 27
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: 08/20 Friday
Subject: Miss you and other stuff
Noah,
It was great to hear your voice last night. Thanks for letting me know you and your parents made the drive safely to Montana. I’m glad you miss me as much as I miss you. And that you love me. I MISS YOU!! How is MSU? How is your dorm? Have you met your roommate? I hope he’s okay. I’m glad I have Suz. I would be so nervous to move in with a stranger.
I am e-mailing you from my dorm room! Suz has clothes everywhere already. We are gonna be tripping over each other, but I’m excited! I MISS YOU! If I wasn’t so psyched about school starting, I don’t know what I’d do.
I wish you could’ve been at Nana’s wedding! It was beautiful! Not stuffy and dull like Dad’s to Nat the brat. Nana looked so pretty in her cream-colored suit. Oliver looked handsome and proud. Mom gave Nana away. Or, as Nana said, walked her “into the next season of her life.” Isn’t that sweet? When it was over, and she and Oliver started down the aisle, some old guy shouted, “that-a-boy, Luther!” Everybody cracked up. Oh, and the funniest part—a few kids Nana and Oliver met at The Beat were there. Reese, Tonto and I played at the reception. (WE MISSED YOU!) Nana and Oliver can really dance! I’ve never laughed so hard. Anyway, they are in Hawaii now on their honeymoon. When they get back, they’ll rent a little condo close to our house. I can’t wait until they see the surprise Mom and I have waiting for them. It’s a really awesome brass bed. Mom paid a fortune for it but she said Nana’s always wanted one, and she deserves it.
Guess what? Maxwell is gonna be a daddy. The mother is our neighbor’s poodle, Pom Pom. Mrs. Stein isn’t too happy. She thinks Maxwell is a “brute” and not good enough for her precious, prissy poodle. She says Max “took advantage” of Pom Pom. As if. Pom Pom dug the hole and came over to Max. The hoochie. Mom thinks it’s hilarious because Mrs. Stein has been trying to fix Mom up since the day Dad left and, instead, the dogs got together. Anyway, we wondered what had perked Max up, and now we know.
Well, tonight is my first night away from home. Mom cried when she left me here, but I think she’ll be okay. She’s really busy with her work and her new radio show starts soon. She and the Margarita Martyrs have started walking in the evenings and she’s lost most of the weight she put on when she was stuffing her face 24/7. Oh, and she and Nate are still on. That dating-other-people-for-a-while-just-to-make-sure thing she suggested to him lasted about five minutes. They’re together all the time. It’s still weird for me to see her with another guy besides Dad, but Nate’s nice and he doesn’t try to act like my dad’s stand-in. I’d rather see her with him than someone else.
So…have you met any girls? Do they have hairy armpits and legs? Never mind! Suz told me to ask that! Still, I secretly hope they are as hairy as King Kong. And as big, too.
Well, gotta go. Next time I write, I’ll have gone to class and, hopefully, met some people. I’ll tell you about everything. Write or call me soon and tell me everything that’s going on with you. I MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love and miss you bunches,
Erin
CHAPTER 28
Cecilia Dupree
Day Planner
Monday, 08/23
1.
8 a.m.—First Sex & The Senior radio show.
2.
9:30 a.m.—New pt. appt—Maevis Carlyle (struggling w/staying active).
3.
11:00—pt. appt—George Godfrey (grief counseling over wife’s death).
4.
Noon—lunch @ home (salad). Check on Pom Pom. Decline date w/ Mrs. Stein’s husband’s cousin’s son. Excuse: incest (we’re now related through granddogs).
5.
2:00—Parkview Reading Group. Start new Sela Summers novel, Daphne’s Desire. (save copy for Mother and Oliver.)
6.
4:00—pt. follow-up—Iris & Stanley McDougal (marriage counseling over Iris’s continued phone relationship w/obscene caller).
7.
6:00—Walk w/Martyrs, then put away Erin’s baby photos & stop crying.
8.
8:00—Dinner w/Nate. Accept invite to weekend in Cozumel next month. These conditions:
(a) pressure about the scuba (maybe, maybe not);
(b) iffy on bikini for me (no promises);
(c) definitely no Speedo for him (Pu-leese!);
(d) no wine (well, maybe a little);
(e) separate rooms (extremely negotiable).
SANDWICHED
Copyright © 2005 Jennifer Archer
ISBN: 978-1-4603-7049-0
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
TheNextNovel.com
Sandwiched Page 22
