Falling Stars (11 page)

A thick, warm breeze blew off the Potomac River and past the monuments. It was late, well past midnight, and the Mustang was parked on 17
th
Street in the shadow of the Washington Monument. The monument was lit up, brilliantly white, towering over the four of us as we sat in the grass.

“It was only a couple hundred feet from here that we met,” Julia said, looking at me with a smile.
 

“I love this city,” I replied, grinning back at her.
 

Carrie was standing a few feet away from us, staring at the Washington Monument.
 
Sean lay on the ground.

“Are we done?” Sean asked.

“I could live here,” Carrie said. “I always loved DC.”

Julia shuddered a little. “I love that me and Crank met here on the Mall, but before that, I don’t have any memories of this city.”

Carrie nodded, then shrugged a little. “Maybe make some happy memories. This seems like a place I could do that.”

I could see it. She was so smart and confident. Like Julia, but about different things. Despite her consistent denial of any resemblance, Julia had so obviously inherited her father’s gift for negotiation and business. Carrie, though… Her personality and talents were very different. She seemed to be driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge I’d never seen matched by anyone but Sean.
 

“Why not San Francisco? Or New York?”

Carrie shrugged. “New York I could see. I can’t wait to start school. But I don’t want to live near Mom and Dad.
 
I mean, I love them and all, but I’m so tired of Mom being all in my business.”

“Your mom loves you,” Sean said.

Julia sat up straight, shocked. So did I. Sean had spent all of twenty minutes around Julia and Carrie’s mother, and not under ideal circumstances.
 
How would Mr. Analytical have formed such an opinion in such a short amount of time?

“I’m sure she does,” Carrie said, “but that doesn’t make her any easier to live with.”

“I think she has secrets,” Sean replied.
 

Carrie tilted her head. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know.” Sean went back to looking at the stars.

“Come
on,
Sean,” Carrie needled. “There has to be something behind what you said. Some evidence? Anything?”

He sat up. “They never touched each other. Or even looked at each other.”

“
Who?
” Carrie replied.

“Your parents.”

Carrie and Julia looked at each other and I could see the wheels turning in Julia’s brain. But we didn’t talk about it anymore.

You can always tell New York City in the summertime by the distinctive smell. Was it the subways? The shallows and wetlands of New Jersey? Was it the massive landfills, or Staten Island, or the garbage waiting to be collected? Whatever it was, every time I visited New York in the summertime I wanted to turn around and drive away.

Today, though, I didn’t have that option. We entered the city through the Lincoln Tunnel, then drove north toward the Columbia University campus. Along the way, I thought the smell might dissipate as we neared Central Park or the campus, but no luck.

It was close to four in the afternoon by the time we finally found parking, located the housing office, got Carrie’s keys, and moved her into her new room. It was a tiny dorm room with cinderblock walls and scuffed tile floors with a small bookshelf built into the wall below the window. Two twin beds occupied nearly half the available floor space.

Once we got her bags upstairs, Carrie practically bounced on the bed.

“I can’t believe it!” she cried.
 

“It’s kind of a crappy room,” Sean pointed out.
 

“I know, but it’s
mine.
”

“And your roommate’s,” he replied.

“Who cares?” Carrie replied. “I’m so excited!”

I sat down on the bed opposite her.
 
Whoever her roommate was going to be, she hadn’t moved in yet. The bed was bare and shelves unoccupied.

“What does your week look like?” Crank asked.

“Orientation on Monday,” she said. “I need to get my work study assignment.”

“You too?” I asked.

“What?” Crank said. “Aren’t your parents paying your tuition?”

 
“Even though Dad donated like a million dollars or something to the school, he still makes us apply for work study,” Carrie explained. “I think he paid so they’d have a position for us.”

Crank looked confused. “He did the same with me, Crank. I kind of get it… If you had kids, you’d want them to have to work for something, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Good point.”

Sean looked intently at the radiator. He leaned close to it, as if studying it, then pronounced, “The odds of your radiator exploding or causing severe injury are limited.
 
This system looks well-maintained.”

Carrie burst out laughing, but her eyes also went a little watery and red. “I’m sure I’ll be okay, Sean.”

He turned away from the radiator, looking annoyed.
 
“You can’t be too careful about radiators.”

She sniffed. “I’ll miss you. It’s been a lot of fun during the drive.”

“I’ll miss you, Carrie,” he said.

Sean’s eyes watered, and that got me going too. Next thing I knew, the four of us were all hugging and slobbering.
 

“I don’t want you to go,” Carrie whispered into my hair.

I leaned my head against hers. “You’ll be all right. You’re the strongest woman I know.”

She shrugged. “Of course I am. But I’ll still miss you guys.”

“Can we come visit?” Sean asked.

“I’d like that,” Carrie replied. “Please do. You’re my friend.”

“How about next weekend?” Sean suggested.

“Might be a little longer than that, Sean,” Crank said. “Give her a chance to get settled in. And you too. I think you’re gonna be pretty busy once you start school too.”

With a lot more tears and hugs and kisses, the three of us left Carrie behind. Crank drove with the top down.
 
Sean slouched down really low in his seat, forcefully turning the pages of his book and ignoring everything, which is what he always did when he found something emotionally overwhelming.

I looked back and waved at Carrie, who stood in the doorway of the building, a bittersweet smile on her face as we drove away. She was so sad to say goodbye, but at the same time, so excited. I was excited for her. She was stepping into a whole new reality, away from our parents, away from everyone, really. Who knew what might happen? She might become a famous scientist, or fall in love, or run for President, or any number of things.
 

One thing I knew for sure. My sister was strong enough for whatever would come her way.
 
As Crank pulled into traffic and we drove away from her, I watched her waving in the rearview mirror and hoped the future would be kind.

When Carrie was out of sight, Crank gave me a smile. “You’ll miss her, won’t you?”

I nodded and sniffed.
 
“I remember how lonely I was my first year of college.”

He reached out and took my hand. “She’ll be okay. She’s got you as a big sister.”

I squeezed his hand back and wondered how I had ever gotten so mad I’d thought about leaving him.
 

“I love you, Crank.”
 

“I love you, Julia.”

THE END

Crazy In Love,
 Beyonce & Jay-Z

The Road I'm On,
 3 Doors Down

Taking Over Me,
 Evanescence

Head On Collision,
 New Found Glory

Everybody's Fool,
 Evanescence

Where Is The Love,
The Black Eyed Peas

The Game of Love,
 Michelle Brance & Santana

Lose Yourself,
 Eminem

Rock Your Body,
 Justin Timberlake

Landslide,
 Dixie Chicks

Miss Independent,
Kelly Clarkson

She Hates Me,
Puddle of Mudd

Gossip Folks (feat. Ludacris),
Missy Elliot

Stockholm Syndrome,
 Blink-182

Fat Lip
, Sum 41

Where the Wild Things Are,
 Metallica

Radar Love,
 Golden Earring

Life in the Fast Lane,
 The Eagles

Magic Carpet Ride,
Steppenwolf

Here I Go Again,
 Whitesnake

Mon Amie La Rose,
 Natasha Atlas

Jody Is a Punk,
The Ramones

Lelsama,
 Natasha Atlas

Cruel to Be Kind,
Nick Lowe

Andrea Thompson is smart, assertive and beautiful. She’s also desperately lonely. Raised in Europe by her grandmother, she struggles knowing neither of her parents wanted her, and she has no idea why.

When Andrea receives an urgent call from her older sister Carrie, she agrees to fly to the United States to help. Carrie’s newborn daughter Rachel needs a bone marrow transplant. 

What Andrea doesn’t know is that her return to the United States will launch a chain of events that will uncover secrets hidden for decades. Secrets which will rock the Thompson family and ignite a political firestorm.

Secrets that some will kill to protect.

Coming December 2013. 

To be notified, sign up for the mailing list at 

www.sheehanmiles.com

Readers who are sticklers for detail will notice a few inconsistencies between Falling Stars and the other books in the Thompson Sisters series. Each book is intended as a stand-alone novel, and so my focus is on the story at hand.

A long story, even a novella, is a complicated undertaking. I had a lot of help from beta readers and other helpers along the way. In particular, thanks to beta readers Andrea Randall, Sarah Griffin, Brett Lewis, Jackie Yeadon, Tanya Spence Hall, Kristen Teaff, Emma Corcoran, Kathy Baker, Windy Wilken, Dimitra Fleissner, Laura Wilson, Bryan James, Michelle Kannan, Amy Burt, Jennifer Mirabelli, Stacey MacDowell Grice, Kirsten Papi, Beth Suit, Rita Jenkins Post, Kelly Moorhouse, Kirsty Lander and Sally Bouley. Your thoughtful and critical comments along the way were a huge help and I'm very grateful!

Books by Charles Sheehan-Miles

http://www.sheehanmiles.com

Charles Sheehan-Miles

Published by Cincinnatus Press

Copyright 2013 Charles Sheehan-Miles.

v10212013

ISBN 978-0-9898688-3-9

Cover Design by Charles Sheehan-Miles

Edited by Erin Roth

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is unintentional, with the exception of certain named historical characters.

Cincinnatus Press

South Hadley, Massachusetts