Palindrome (40 page)

I watch Sadie paddle over to him and splash him, prompting him to flail spastically and try to escape, but Sadie is suddenly clinging to his leg, trying to pull him in with her. I laugh a little, watching him try to extricate himself from her puny grip without hurting her. I set down my empty glass and stagger to my feet, head swooning a bit. Gaze up at the clear azure sky and breathe deep, then walk over to the edge of the pool and push him in from behind.

He disappears under the water for a moment, leaving his sombrero hovering on the water, and then he surfaces, gasping.

Sadie splashes him again, and he tries to shield himself from her, using his ruined sombrero.

There's only one thing I can't even start to figure out. And it's nagging at me more than any other, because I know even
Hannah
didn't know the answer: Why did this process “work”—­do whatever Hannah wanted it to—­that time with Savannah, and not with anyone else? Savannah probably wasn't the first attempt, and Hannah surely tried to replicate the process many times afterwards—­she intended to with Silas, and actually did with Orange. This is the most tempting reason to tell Courtney exactly what I saw—­the possibility that he'll be able to help me figure this out.

I put my sunglasses on Sadie's towel and prepare to join the two of them in the pool. Sadie spots me and gives Courtney a respite.

“Do a cannonball!” she says.

Courtney looks concerned as I teeter at the lip of the pool.

“You really shouldn't swim when you're this drunk, Frank. Go sleep it off—­”

“No, no,” Sadie screams over Courtney. “Cannonball!”

I shrug. “You only live once, Court.”

I leap into the air, simultaneously grinning at Courtney and clumsily trying to tuck in my knees. Just moments before executing a flawless belly flop, I realize that the kindest thing I can do for my friend is to tell him nothing about what happened in that hotel room. And I certainly won't mention that the tape—­undamaged—­is upstairs in my bag, tucked into a dirty sock.

 

Acknowledgments

M
Y AGENT,
E
LIZABETH
C
OPPS,
is an absolute pleasure to work with in every capacity—­without her guidance, wisdom and patience, none of this would have happened. Additionally, everyone else at MCA including: Maria Carvainis, Martha Guzman and Sam Brody.

Everybody at Witness Impulse, particularly my editor, Chloe Moffett, whose enthusiasm, brilliant sensibilities and humor have made this whole process a delight.

Maxx Loup—­without his support I likely would have stopped writing years before
Palindrome
was even born. He's nurtured my writing career as a gifted editor, sounding board and dear friend. Every artist should have someone this interesting to talk to in their lives.

My brother and writing partner, Noah Rinsky, an incredibly talented reader, whose prose, company and music have influenced me far more than he realizes.

Chelsey Emmelhainz now at SkyHorse, the first editor to champion this manuscript.

12 Corners coffee shop on East Broadway, where I wrote almost all of this book.

Eric Alterman, J. P. Medved and “Uncle” Mark Rinsky, who have been giving me astoundingly thoughtful notes since I started writing.

Asking Jonah Bromwich, Avishay Naamat and Lori Ungemah to read early drafts of this is among the best decisions I've ever made, and their fingerprints are all over this book.

Robert McGuill, Steve “Mr.” Schriener, Carly Silver at Harlequin, Daniel Millenson, Shira Schindel, Jacob Hartz and Laura Rogers all helped my career at critical junctures, sometimes unwittingly.

And Mom and Dad, my biggest fans.

 

About the Author

E.Z. RINSKY
has worked as a statistics professor, copywriter and—for one misguided year—a street musician. He currently lives in Tel Aviv. More at
ezrinsky.com
.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

 

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

PALINDROME
. Copyright © 2016 by Ephraim Rinsky. All rights reserved under International and Pan-­American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-­book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-­engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of Harper­Collins e-­books. For information, address Harper­Collins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

EPub Edition JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780062495488

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062495471

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