Heart to Heart

by Lurlene McDaniel

  Terri had arranged the photos on colorful background pages, with cleverly placed decals and symbols to highlight the settings.

  “I—I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just knowing you like the book is thanks enough.”

  “I love it!”

  “Terri will be happy to know that.”

  One page held a shot of Mom and me leaning over the picnic table working a puzzle in deep concentration, our foreheads almost touching. In the background the haunting image of a soldier had been Photoshopped into the picture. On the last page were photos arranged in a circle. Terri and Matt; Mom and an old photo of my dad surrounding pictures of Elowyn and me. There we were, strangers who might have never met except for a heart transplant. I ran my fingers across the picture of my dad. “Where did you get this one?”

  “I called your mother and asked for it.”

  “And she … she didn’t mind?”

  He grinned. “She was kind and generous. I knew Terri was way overinvolved with your life. I understood and your mother does too. You don’t belong to us, Arabeth. You’re not our child.”

  I nodded. “I feel close to you, though.”

  “We got off-track because sometimes … well, you say and do things that make Elowyn seem alive again. Not your fault. It’s unnerving, though. One minute you’re Arabeth, the next she seems to jump right out at us.”

  I didn’t bring up Wyatt’s cellular memory theory. It was best to let Terri and Matt cut the strings. “I’ll be grateful forever to all of you.”

  He rocked back on his heels. “It would be nice if you’d contact us from time to time. Not regularly. Just now and again. Like when life milestones come up, such as graduation, getting married, things like that.”

  “I will.”

  He searched my face. Did he see Elowyn now?

  I watched his eyes tear up. “You take care of yourself, Arabeth. You’ll never be far from our thoughts.”

  My own eyes filled too. I turned my head. He backed out of the doorway. At the last second, I heard him whisper, “Goodbye, Sugar Plum.”

  And without hesitation, words spilled out of my mouth that I had not planned to say. Words that came in a voice clear and gentle, and different from mine. I said, “I love you, Daddy.”

  · 31 ·

  Kassey

  “I think she’s gone and out of my life,” Arabeth told me dramatically.

  We were sitting at the picnic table on her back patio licking ice cream cones—not Chunky Monkey but mint chocolate fudge. The afternoon was hot and still. We were in our bathing suits, and a kiddie pool and a rotating sprinkler were waiting for us on the grass.

  Of course, I knew instinctively she was talking about the reflection of Elowyn imprinted in her cells. “How do you know?”

  “I just feel it. I’m my old self again. Boring ole me.”

  I grinned. “So what’s it feel like to be you?”

  She thought about that, then said, “Happy. Excited about school starting. Are you happy? About school and volleyball, I mean.”

  I licked a dribble sliding down the side of my cone. “I am. It’ll be good to get back on the courts. How about you? Any sports at Athena you can play?”

  “I might go out for cross-country. My doctors tell me my heart is sound and I can run. It’s been years since I’ve run hard.”

  Arabeth wore a one-piece tank suit, but I could see the top of her scar from her transplant. “You should think about volleyball.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You’re the superstar in that field.”

  We slurped in silence, licking quickly because the sun was melting the ice cream. She licked a trail off her hand. “Do you hear from Wyatt?” I asked.

  “Not since I came home from the hospital. But it’s okay. We were never meant to be a couple.”

  “How do you know?”

  She gave up on the trail of liquid ice cream and let it run down her arm. “I could never be sure if he really liked me, Arabeth, or the parts of Elowyn he saw in me. I want a boyfriend who just wants Arabeth.”

  It made perfect sense. “I’m glad you weren’t too attached to him.”

  “I liked him well enough.” Her expression turned wistful, then brightened. “And I’ll always be grateful because he gave me my first kiss. And now I can concentrate on finding someone to give me my second kiss. I’m over the ‘what if we bump noses’ trauma.”

  I laughed out loud. “That’s one way to look at it.”

  We dumped our cone leftovers, rinsed off, and climbed into the pool. We were too big for it and our legs dangled over the edges, but the water was cooler than the air. I stirred the water with my hands. In the far back part of the yard, I considered the playhouse, draped with branches of hot pink crepe myrtle flowers. “News flash,” I said.

  Arabeth flipped pool water across her face and the droplets shimmered on her skin. “Go on.”

  “I’ve been e-mailing my father.”

  She sat up straighter. “You have?”

  “I guess I’ve been mad at him long enough. Mom’s forgiven him. I guess I should too.”

  “You should,” Arabeth said. “Where is he? Will you see him anytime soon?”

  “He’s working in an engineering firm out west. I invited him to come for my graduation next May. Mom told me I’ve done the right thing and my dad was pumped about the invite.” It sounded funny to my ears to be saying “my dad.”

  We lazed in the pool, letting the hot sun beat down on us. The sprinkler made a pass and rained water on us every few minutes.

  “I want to ask you something,” Arabeth said.

  Her voice sounded timid. I opened one eye. “Okay, ask me.”

  She took a deep breath. “Mom’s rented a cabin at Altoona Lake for Labor Day weekend. Aunt Viv and Uncle Theo will man the inn so she and I can get away.”

  I closed my eye. “Sounds like fun.”

  “Mom says she’s going to sleep, read, and eat chocolate for three days. Not much fun for me.”

  I listened because Arabeth was leading up to something.

  “She said … she told me I could invite a friend to stay with us. You know, so I won’t be bored out of my skull. I was hoping you could come. It’s sort of like a long sleepover. Just a short vacation, and we won’t miss any school. I’ll have a better time if I take a friend with me.”

  I turned my face toward her. Her expression was eager and her eyes questioning. My heart picked up its pace. A vacation. Just like the ones I went along on with Elowyn and her parents. I could have told that to Arabeth. But hadn’t she told me she was free of Elowyn’s influence? Didn’t she believe she was her own person once more?

  “You don’t want to go. You probably have plans.” Arabeth looked crestfallen. “That’s okay. It was a long shot.”

  She started to rise, but I reached for her arm. “Wait. I was going over my social calendar mentally, and guess what? Nothing!”

  She eased back into the water. “Really?”

  “Zilch. I’d like to come. Mom and I never take vacations.”

  A smile lit up her face. “I’ll tell Mom. She likes you.”

  The sprinkler made another pass. The spray fell on us and the pool water. I watched the ripples spread. It was decided. We would go on vacation. Just Arabeth’s mother, Arabeth, and me.

  And the heart of Elowyn Eden.

  Lurlene McDaniel began writing inspirational novels about teenagers facing life-altering situations when her son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. “I saw firsthand how chronic illness affects every aspect of a person’s life,” she has said. “I want kids to know that while people don’t get to choose what life gives to them, they do get to choose how they respond.”

  Lurlene McDaniel’s novels are hard-hitting and realistic, but also leave readers with inspiration and hope. Her books have received acclaim from readers, teachers, parents, and reviewers. Her bestselling novels include Don’t Die, My Love, I’ll Be Seeing You, Till Death Do Us Part, Hit and Run,
and Prey.

  Lurlene McDaniel lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.