"I am very proud to have young Ms. Porter's talent displayed here," the mayor said, smiling at Mr. Hamilton, who dabbed at his eyes. "Did anyone want to say anything?"
Taking a deep breath, Gabriel stepped forward. His eyes traveled over the people before him, his grandparents standing side by side with his mother, then his friends with their parents, even Eddie's father had come. There was a hint of tension in the air, but now and then Gabriel noticed hesitant glances exchanged between Jack and Eddie, and Gabriel felt hope grow in his heart. They would be okay. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But one day, they would be okay again.
"Hannah was my friend and despite her situation, she had big dreams." He glanced at Mr. Hamilton, who smiled at him encouragingly. "She always saw the best in people and knowing her made my life better. I will always be grateful to her for that. Today I am glad that I can return the favor...at least a little. The one thing Hannah was afraid of was to be forgotten by the people that loved her, but also by the world. She was afraid that once she died, no one would remember she had ever lived. That the world would not see that she was gone, because it had never even seen her when she was still here." With a smile, Gabriel looked up at the colorful canvas hanging next to him. Like many of Hannah's later painting, it showed the Dive, sparkling in the sunshine of an eternal summer. "This is only the first of many of her paintings that the mayor agreed we could hang up all over town; City Hall, the library, the auditorium at school. Wherever art is shown, Hannah's work will be among them. She was a great artist, capturing life, and there is nothing more important than that." Then he turned his eyes to his mother and saw tears streaming down her face. "And my mom will take one of Hannah's paintings back to New York with her, and put it up in her gallery. Many people will see her paintings. Many people will know who she was. Many people will remember her." For a second he closed his eyes. "Thank you, Hannah. I'll never forget you. I promise."
I know, a tiny voice whispered. I've always known.
Opening his eyes, Gabriel smiled. The world had never seemed so promising.
Chapter 20 – Butterflies
"Hi," Gabriel said as the three of them met up after hanging Hannah's painting at Rochester Hall. Ever since he had left Jack and Eddie alone at the Dive, almost all his thoughts had been focused on what had become of their friendship. Had they talked? Had they been able to regain a sense of their earlier closeness? Would their friendship have a future?
Suddenly shy, all three of them barely raised their eyes from the ground to look at each other. When Jack and Eddie mumbled a greeting in return, Gabriel knew it was once again up to him to break the ice. "Did you talk?"
Both nodded, barely glancing at each other.
"Okay." Gabriel looked from one to the other. "It's still weird, isn't it?" More nods. "Eddie, are you still angry?"
Slowly, his eyes rose from the ground, and he glanced at Jack, who met his gaze, his hands trembling. "No," Eddie breathed. "I'm not angry with my dad or Jack any more. It's just..."
"Difficult to move past everything?" Jack asked, and Gabriel's heart thudded in his chest. They were talking.
Eddie nodded. "I want us to be friends again."
"Me too."
Gabriel couldn't help but smile. "I know this is hard for you, but I am just so relieved that you guys are talking."
"Me too," both of them agreed, and shared a smile.
"Just take your time," Gabriel counseled. "There is no rush. The important thing is that you're working on it."
Again Eddie's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah, thanks again!" He looked at Jack. "For taking the fall for me with Principal Hall. I guess, she was very upset with you, too?"
"She was." Jack shook his head. "But it was worth it."
Eddie smiled. "When she thought it was me, she banned me from the Writers' Workshop. What punishment did you get? Another clean-up session like Jordan or when I had to help out in the library? You know, whatever it is, I'll do it! You don't have to lift a finger!"
Jack waved a hand in dismissal. "It's nothing! Forget about it!"
"No, tell me! I want to know! I'll do it, no matter what!"
Again Jack waved away Eddie's efforts. "Don't worry!"
Eddie started tapping his foot, and Gabriel couldn't help but grin at the normal gesture of his friend's ever-impatient personality. "C'mon, don't beat around the bush! The dragon sure as hell gave you a punishment, and I want to know what it is!"
"Fine!" Jack threw up his hands. "I'm suspended from the football team for three months."
Eddie's eyes flew open. "What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, but it's nothing! Really!"
For a second Eddie looked too stunned to say anything, then he started shaking his head. "No, I can't let you do that! You love football! Three months without the team will be like a vacation in hell for you. And besides, if you're suspended for three months they will need to find a replacement, and who knows if you'll even get your place on the team back once the suspension is over. Maybe whoever gets your place, will end up not being a replacement at all but become a permanent member because he is just a really good player. That's a huge risk!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Jack sighed. "I know. But there is nothing we can do about that!" When Eddie opened his mouth, Jack cut him off. "You are going to that Writers' Workshop. That's an order! Do you understand?"
Again Eddie stared at Jack, and for a second Gabriel thought he would argue. But then a smile spread over his face, and in the next instant he saluted, "Yes, sir."
Not only Jack's face lit up when he heard those words. It had been a long time!
***
Coming home, Gabriel stopped short as he opened the door and a variety of voices reached his ears. Unsure if he should trust them, he inched down the hallway, eyes searching for the source of the sounds. As he approached the kitchen, his heart started beating faster and faster until Gabriel was sure he would faint any second. Trying to calm himself, he took a deep breath and then stepped around the corner and into the kitchen.
Instantly, all fell silent.
"Hi sweetheart," his mother beamed. "How was school?"
"Good." Still staring, Gabriel turned his gaze from his mother to his grandparents until they fell on his father, who he hadn't seen in months. Although all their faces held pure and utter joy, Gabriel couldn't help but feel scared. Why were they here? Did something happen? What was wrong?
"Gabriel," his father said, coming toward him and engulfing him in his arms. "Gosh, I've missed you."
As he felt his father's arms around him, holding him tight, Gabriel felt himself relax. Maybe things had changed. Maybe his parents had finally worked things out. Although his mother had promised, he hadn't altogether believed her. But seeing his parents here now, maybe everything would turn out fine after all. Just maybe.
After cake and coffee mixed with a little catching-up, Gabriel followed his parents into the parlor. While his father sat down in the armchair by the window, his mother took a seat on the couch, patting the spot right next to her. "Come, sit. We have something we need to talk to you about."
Eying his parents with apprehension, Gabriel sat down. "Is something wrong?"
Taking his hand, his father smiled. "Don't worry, nothing's wrong! We came to talk to you," his father started, glancing at his wife with shining eyes, "because we have finally talked about...well, everything. Everything that had gone wrong lately. Your mother told me about everything that happened here and between the two of you. About how you made her see what was going on and what happened back in school with Liam's dad."
Gabriel glanced at his mother. "I told him everything," she said, her face held nothing back. "It felt good to get it out. Now that we both know, we can finally move forward." Again she looked at her husband. Her eyes shone, and the smile didn't seem plastered on, but genuine and full of emotion. Gabriel hadn't seen her look so happy in a long time. "And we both want to. Although we were so absorbed in our careers lately, after talking about
everything we did realize that we are still in love." Suddenly both his parents looked flushed as though shy to show their feelings so openly. Gabriel smiled. When it came to love, age didn't matter, he realized. "We are together because we want to be. We know that now." They exchanged a meaningful glance. "And now there is only one thing missing?"
Feeling a tingling in his tummy, Gabriel looked from one parent to the other. "What?"
A huge smile spread over both their faces, then they said in unison. "You."
Not sure he should believe his ears, Gabriel asked, "Me?"
"Yes," his mother said, taking his other hand. "We love you, and we're sorry we let you forget that. Please, believe us. We won't ever let that happen again. We love you, and we missed you terribly. We want you to come home."
Gabriel froze. Although the words he had longed to hear for the past two years had finally been said, Gabriel had a hard time believing that he wasn't dreaming. Could he trust his parents? Were they serious? If he went home, would things be different? Or would they soon return to the way things were before? All thoughts of change forgotten?
After a long time, his father spoke first. "I can see that this is not easy for you. You've had a lot to deal with for a long time, and we can't expect you to forget about everything, just because we've come to our senses." He looked at his wife, who nodded along to his words. "And we know that you have made a life here now. We can't expect you to just drop everything and come back to New York. But we wanted you to know how we felt."
"Gabriel," his mother said, and he turned his eyes to her. "This is not a now-or-never situation. The decision is yours. You can come home whenever you're ready. Now or later." A smile lit up her face as she brushed a hand over his hair. "Of course, we would love to take you home right now, but we can wait. This is up to you. We won't pressure you. We promise!"
"Yes," his father agreed. "We're here for the holidays." Gabriel's eyes grew wide. "We both took time off work, and we want nothing more than to spend some time together."
"Really?" Gabriel breathed. "No work? No phone calls? No online conferences?"
Both his parents shook their heads. "Only us."
Gabriel smiled. "I'd like that."
As his parents hugged him, Gabriel felt all the dread and unease fall from his heart. All the baggage he'd been lugging around for so long evaporated into thin air. The world suddenly was a brighter place.
***
The iron gate creaked as he pushed it open. Even in the dark the cemetery shone brightly as the moonlight bounced off the snow-covered tombstones. Walking down the winding path to the west end of the cemetery, Gabriel heard the snow crunch beneath his feet. When he found the little tombstone he was looking for, Gabriel stopped. Despite the wet ground, he lowered himself into the snow, sitting cross-legged as he stared into the glowing dark, waiting.
Not long after, a tiny light buzzed toward him. "Thanks for coming," he said. "I needed to talk to you, and this is the only place I know you'll be."
No problem. What is this about?
"My parents asked me to come home." He shifted in the wet grass, feeling the cold crawl up his legs. "I don't know if I should go."
Isn't that what you've been hoping for?
Gabriel shrugged. "Kind of. But I just don't know. I want to go home, and it's really great to have my parents around. I didn't even know I'd missed them that much. But..."
This is your home, too, isn't it? the little firefly whispered.
Gabriel nodded. "It is. And all my friends are here. In New York I don't know anyone." He sighed. "My parents are there, and my friends are here. My grandparents too." Again he sighed. "I just don't know what to do."
I know it's hard, Hannah whispered. But don't rush this. Take your time.
"My parents said I didn't have to make a choice right now."
See? Then listen. You'll know what to do when the time comes.
"You think so?"
Absolutely, Hannah said. Just don't do anything rash.
Gabriel nodded. "Okay, I'll think it through. But not now, my parents are staying for the holidays, and I...I just–"
You just want to enjoy your time with them.
"Yes, it's just so wonderful." Gabriel felt his face split into a smile. "You always know what I'm going to say. Why is that?"
He could almost see Hannah shrugged her shoulders. I'm not sure.
The smile vanished from Gabriel's face as his eyes turned to the ground. "You know, I think maybe I should say goodbye."
I've been waiting for you to come to that conclusion, Hannah said, joy ringing in her voice. It's about time.
"What? Really? Why didn't you say anything?"
Because you had to figure it out for yourself.
Gabriel got to his feet. "Sometimes you sound like an annoying parent."
Oh, don't fret! You know I'm right!
"Fine, let's not argue," Gabriel relented, a smile on his face. "But I'm going to miss you. You are my best friend."
And you are mine. But don't forget about your other friends. Don't forget that they'll be there for you if you need them. Just like you were there for them and always will be. Don't keep everything to yourself. Talk to people if you have a problem. Promise me!
Gabriel nodded. "I promise! I learned a lot from you. Thanks!"
You're welcome. Now get out of here before you freeze to death and become my neighbor permanently.
As Gabriel walked back down the path, seeing the imprints of his own footsteps that had let him to Hannah's grave only minutes before, he felt tears in his eyes. He had to let her go and move on. He knew that. And yet it broke his heart. This was goodbye. For good.
Don't do anything stupid, Hannah called after him. I'll be checking in on you every now and then.
Turning to look at her, Gabriel smiled as the tiny light buzzed up and down as though waving goodbye. "See you then," Gabriel said. "Feel free to visit any time."
***
Still wondering what he would do, Gabriel walked home after the last day of school before Christmas break. With his mind busy, racing from option to option, his feet kicked up snow here and there, while his hands pulled stray leaves from a frozen hedge here and an icy bush there.
Did he really want to go home? Or did he want to stay? Kenton Woods felt like home, too. Did he now have two homes? Two homes? Gabriel couldn't help but grin. He knew he should feel lucky to have so many people in his life who cared about him, and yet the decision he had to make made him feel sick to the stomach.
When Gabriel reached the small picket fence surrounding his grandparents' front yard, he wasn't any closer to an answer than when he had left school grounds.
Looking up at the small one-story bungalow, Gabriel felt drawn inside. Through the small kitchen window he could see his grandmother doing the dishes while his grandfather stood beside her with a dishtowel in his hands. Chatting, they smiled at each other, eyes glowing with mutual affection; the kind that is born out of years of going through life side by side. Wondering if he'd ever see his parents look at each other like this, Gabriel stopped.
Riding their bikes down the street, Nahla and her friend Kaitlin stopped in front of the Holmes' house. Talking animatedly, they didn't even glance in his direction as they got off their bikes and walked up the driveway.
As Gabriel stared, his eyes glided over Kaitlin's blonde hair as it glistened in the sun. To him, it felt like he was seeing her for the very first time. As she laughed at Nahla's words, the curls framing her rosy cheeks bounced up and down, and her open smile seemed as radiant as the sun itself. The sparkling snow reflected in her ice-blue eyes; it sent a shiver down Gabriel's spine. And yet, he couldn't look away.
As the girls entered the house and closed the door behind themselves, Gabriel felt a strange queasiness in his stomach. Something fluttered here and there.
A smile came to his face.
Butterflies.
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About the Author
With a deep love for literature, Bree Wolf became a writer early on when she discovered that many of the books she wanted to read hadn’t been written yet.
While obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English/Education and a Master of Arts in Specialized Translation, she followed her fancy across different genres, deciding on a whim what to write about.
Although she herself is her own toughest critic, she is always on the lookout for inspirational assistance. Help her work out the bugs in her writing by leaving a comment on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/breewolf.novels , and/or writing a review on.
Your opinion is much appreciated.
Okay, so much for the slightly weird, third-person perspective. On a more personal note…
…as a substitute English teacher I sometimes can’t seem to resist the urge to correct people’s grammar–so, beware!
…I’m hopelessly addicted to chocolate, which is why you generally don’t find any in my kitchen (not because I don’t buy it but because it never really makes it from the shopping bag to the shelf).
…while eight legs don’t bother me so much, six however accompanied by an annoying and insistent buzzing have me running for the hills (well, I don’t like things that sting).
…and last but not least I feel I should mention my inability to leave the volume control of the TV on anything but an even number (you’re thinking OCD? Yeah, that thought had occurred to me too).
Well, I guess that about sums it up!
Also by Bree Wolf
Fireflies
(#1 Airborne Trilogy)
Dragonflies
(#3 Airborne Trilogy)
Coming 2016