Pretend She's Here(89)
“You mean wayward girls, like me,” Chloe said.
“Like us,” I said. “Girls who wind up far from home.”
“And find our way back again, sort of,” Chloe said.
“That’s really good,” Marcela said. “Will you remember to say that on camera?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “That was just for us. But I’ve got my questions ready, and we’ll tell everything else that happened. Right?”
“Right,” Chloe said.
“Definitely,” Casey said.
Then the three of us walked into the Apiary and sat in the chairs I had arranged. I’d made sure to set them up facing the beehive. The lights were bright, and the camerawoman had gotten into position. I stared past her.
It was spring now. The air was getting warm and the bees had started flying outside, collecting pollen and nectar from the season’s first flowers, then returning to the colony. Their wings glittered, iridescent in the sunlight. I thought of Lizzie, felt a shiver of missing her. I hoped she could somehow know that Chloe was going to be okay.
That I was, too.
Casey, Chloe, and I exchanged one last look. Casey squeezed my hand.
“L,” he said.
“L,” I said.
“What does that mean?” Chloe asked.
“L for ‘love,’” Casey said.
“And for Lizzie,” I whispered.
And then I let go of Casey’s hand and sat up straight in my chair. I cleared my throat. The camera began to film.
And starting at the very beginning, we told our story.
I am so grateful to my brilliant, kind, and insightful editor Aimee Friedman. Everyone at Scholastic has been endlessly supportive and creative, including David Levithan, Ellie Berger, Lori Benton, Alan Smagler, Elizabeth Whiting, Betsy Politi, Nikki Mutch, Sue Flynn, Tracy van Straaten, Brooke Shearouse, Rachel Feld, Isa Caban, Lizette Serrano, Emily Heddleson, Anna Swenson, Mariclaire Jastremsky, Elizabeth Parisi, Baily Crawford, Olivia Valcarce, Rachel Gluckstern, Melissa Schirmer, Cheryl Weisman, and Christy Damio.
I have been with my agent Andrea Cirillo forever, and no wonder. I am thankful to her for everything. The Jane Rotrosen Agency is my other family, including Meg Ruley, Annelise Robey, Christina Hogrebe, Amy Tannenbaum, Rebecca Scherer, Kathy Schneider, Jessica Errera, Christina Prestia, Julianne Tinari, Michael Conroy, Donald W. Cleary, Hannah Rody-Wright, Ellen Tischler, Danielle Sickles, Sabrina Prestia, and Jane Berkey.
Amelia Onorato, the graphic novelist and comic artist, is incredibly wise about story, characters, dialogue, and the dark side of fictional families, and I am grateful for her generosity in discussing writing with me.
Molly Feinstein’s compassion, wisdom, and support mean so much to me. Every time we speak on the phone, I feel as if we’re taking a walk on the beach, looking for sea glass, talking about life as we go along.
Madelene McDuff Grisanty views the world, even the painful moments, with humor and perspective. She keeps me laughing. In her own words, spoken when she was ten years old, “I care so much.” She does.
Twigg Crawford is, as always, an inspiration. He’s my friend of longest standing. Knowing each other’s history so well is a great gift, and it has helped me weave friendships with old friends into my novels, including this one.
Teachers are everything. I’m so thankful to Laurette Laramie. She taught history but also social justice and the need to look beyond the lessons for a deeper truth. She introduced us to the New York Times’s feature, “The Neediest Cases Fund.” We read them in class. She helped me imagine other people’s lives, to care about their suffering, to want to help.
Librarians provide a place to read, learn, and imagine. I am thankful to all, especially Amy Rhilinger of Attleboro Public Library, Beverly Choltco-Devlin of Tacoma Public Library, and my first librarian, Virginia Smith of New Britain Public Library. Mrs. Smith told me I could get a library card as soon as I could write my name, and she gave me one, even though the “ce” of “Rice” trailed off the line. She handed me the key to the world of books, and I’ll never forget her.
Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-four novels, which have been translated into twenty-four languages. The author of Dream Country, Beach Girls, The Secret Language of Sisters, The Beautiful Lost, and others, Rice often writes about love, family, nature, and the sea. She received the 2014 Connecticut Governor’s Arts Award for excellence and lifetime achievement in the Literary Arts category. Several of Rice’s novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells for the Hallmark Hall of Fame, and Beach Girls for Lifetime. Rice is an avid environmentalist and advocate for families affected by domestic violence. She lives on the Connecticut Shoreline. Visit her online at luannerice.net.