by Foxglove Lee
“Wait,” I said. “My great-grandmother’s name was Flora?”
“That’s right.”
“And she grew up here in Erinville?”
“Yes,” Esther said, though she looked confused about why I’d ask.
I was asking, of course, because Flora was the name of the girl Celeste was caught kissing. And Celeste said I looked a little like her. That must be why—I was Flora’s great-granddaughter! My great-grandmother and I kissed the same girl! How many people could say that?
“Maybe your grandmother is the spirit haunting your father’s house,” Esther suggested. “Maybe she wants him to know she’s sorry for running out on him as a babe.”
“Nah,” my dad said. “She apologized in person before she died. Wherever she is now, I’m sure she knows I don’t hold it against her anymore. Water under the bridge.”
“You’re a good man, Jonathan Janssen.”
“I had a good upbringing, Esther Janssen.”
My great-aunt leaned forward in her chair. “And what about you, Little Miss Sylvie? Are you looking forward to spending the summer here in Erinville?”
“The summer?”
I looked to my dad in confusion and he said to his aunt, “I hadn’t told her about that yet.”
“Good,” Esther said. “That means I can tell her: Sylvie, your dad plans to have all five of you kids spend the summer in Erinville. The house’ll be fully renovated by then. That doll Amy showed me all the plans. Oh, it’s going to be gorgeous.”
“All of us?” I asked cautiously. “Have you talked to Mom about this?”
He nodded confidently. “Your mother’s on board. You know we’ve always run a democratic ship, as parents, so after spending the summer here each of you kids will be free to choose where you’d like to live: in the city or in Erinville. It’s entirely your choice.”
My eyes filled with tears as I realized how unfair I’d been to my dad. I thought he didn’t want anything to do with us when, really, he just needed time to get his house ready for all us kids to stay there.
“There’s something else,” my dad said. “I had a word with Richard Chen who runs the summer theatre here in town. He’s happy to take you on as an usher, if you think you can handle it.”
I blinked hard. “Dad, of course I can. Wow, my first summer job!”
“It’s not exactly leading lady, but everybody’s got to start somewhere,” my great-aunt cut in.
“Oh yeah, definitely.” I clapped my hands. This was all so exciting. “I didn’t know there was a theatre in Erinville. I can’t believe you got me a job!”
My dad shrugged. “If you’re so interested in professional theatre, Mr. Chen said you can sit in on rehearsals. But those start in May, so you’d have to come up on the weekends.”
“Oh wow!”
“Zachary can come too, if he wants.”
“He’s gonna freak when I tell him!” I hugged my dad so hard I thought I might hurt him. “This is a dream come true. It’s the best Christmas ever!”
The man at the piano started up a new song, and the introduction sounded super-familiar. My great-aunt Esther, with her red and green hair, wheeled into the centre of the room and started crooning for the crowd. Some people might think Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a kids’ song, but my great-aunt proved a good performer could pull it off at any age.
When the whole room of seniors raised their voices in song, even my dad joined in, and he almost never sang. He put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder, and I don’t think I’d ever been so happy to be hanging out with my father.
Outside, cotton ball snowflakes fell from the sky. In the winter wonderland beyond the window, diamond-like crystals sparkled and I couldn’t help thinking about Celeste. Her eyes had sparkled just like that, just like the snow.
I couldn’t know for sure where Celeste had gone, but in that moment I could easily believe her spirit was like the snow: something that tumbled gently to Earth and stayed for a while before ascending back up to the sky.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Foxglove’s fiction has been called SPECTACULAR by Rainbow Reviews and UNFORGETTABLE by USA Today.
Foxglove Lee is a former aspiring Broadway Baby who now writes LGBTQ fiction for young adults. She tries not to be too theatrical, but her characters often take over. Like Rebecca from her debut novel Tiffany and Tiger’s Eye, who is convinced an evil doll is trying to ruin the summer of 1986. Or Kenny from her Evernight Teen book Truth and Other Lies, who keeps secrets from everyone in his life when his first novel hits it big! Or Noah from OmniLit Bestseller "The Secret to a Perfect Latke," who comes out live on national television. Or Mila and Laura, who celebrate Valentine’s Day in "I Hate Love" and destroy a family member’s kitchen in "Happy Birthday, Klutzface!"
Follow Foxglove on Twitter @foxglovelee or stay tuned to her blog http://foxglovelee.blogspot.com for new releases!
Also by Foxglove Lee
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For Middle Grade Readers:
The Secret of Dreamland
Ghost Turkey and the Pioneer Graveyard
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For Young Adult Readers:
Sylvie and the Christmas Ghost
Tiffany and Tiger’s Eye
Rainbow Crush
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For New Adult Readers:
Truth and Other Lies
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Also:
Embarrassing Period Stories
