Flicker (61 page)
Authors: Kaye Thornbrugh
She stooped and stuffed the envelope under the door, feeling as if a little piece of her heart were going with it. The note was only a few sentences long, but was the product of many hours of work. She’d agonized over each word. Even now she wasn’t sure if she’d written exactly the right thing
.
Kendall,
the note said:
I don’t hate you. I never hated you. I’m sorry if I ever made you think that.
And
I’m so sorry I was gone for so long, but I’m here now, if you still want me.
In Bridgestone City, on East Teric Avenue, there’s a shop called Flicker. If you go there someday, I can explain everything. Then maybe we can fix this.
At least, we
could try.
Lee
Enclosed with the note was a watercolor of Scully and Mulder, as close to the one she’d painted for Kendall all those years ago as she could make it. It was the only thing Lee had to prove that she was real, and that she’d been here, and that she meant what she’d written. If s
he was anything like she was seven
years ago, Kendall would understand.
Lee stepped off the porch and walked around the corner, where Nasser was
waiting patiently for her
. He hadn’t wanted her to come to Bluewood today. He was worried she would just wind up hurt. But he hadn’t tried to talk her out of it, and when she asked if he would come along, he’d looked her right in the eyes and said, “Of course.”
In that moment, she had felt like there wasn’t a place in the world he wouldn’t go with her, and she couldn’t think of a single place she wanted to go without him. He made her feel so safe, so cared about. She was getting better every day—better at magic, better at living in the present instead of the past—and she knew that a lot of it was because of him.
She wished that she could find words for what she felt for him—but words had never been Lee’s strong
suit
.
She
thought in images, in colors, so
instead of
fumbling for words, she sent him sketches and watercolors: cape jasmine, pans
ies
,
blue salvia
.
When she reached him,
Nasser didn’t ask if she’d le
ft the note
. He already knew. “What do you want to do next?”
There were a thousand things she wanted to, a million—today, tomorrow, years from now. Only now, for t
he first time, did she realize
she could do all of them. She felt young and clean and made of time.
For now, though, there was one thing that came to mind:
“
Alice said she and Jason were going to have dinner at Ladders tonight
,” she
said
. “If we hurry, we
could meet them down there.”
“That sounds good,” Nasser said, and Lee thought suddenly that it
did
sound good. Really good. Sitting around a table in the warm restaurant, everything bathed in welcoming amber light, talking and laughing. It sounded like the best thing in the world.
She gazed up at him for a long moment. His eyes were the same color as the winter sky. Then she stood up on her toes and kissed him.
“Thank you, Nasser,” she said, her words a happy sigh.
He laughed and tenderly brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.
“
For what
?”
Smiling, Lee took his hand. “Everything.
”
# # #
Kaye Thornbrugh once wanted to be an Egyptologist—but after developing a healthy fear of mummies and Ancient Egyptian curses, she turned to writing instead. When not writing, Kaye can often be found reading fairy tales or creating elaborate collages. Flicker is her fi
rst novel.
Connect With Me Online
I love to connect with readers! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or com
ments, and check out my website
for extra content and news on my upcoming books.
Blog:
kayethornbrugh.blogspot.com
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Facebook:
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Email: [email protected]
Acknowledgements
I could not have completed
Flicker
without the support and enthusiasm of my family and friends. Thank you to my grandparents, my mom, and my sisters, who always believed in me and in
Flicker.
Thank you to Ellen Klowden, a dear friend and queen among betas, who was invaluable during the editing of this book. And thank
you,
dear reader, for going on this journey with me.
