Her mom ignores Emerson and looks at Trinity. “Can you point me to the restroom?”
“Here, I’ll show you,” Trinity says, putting her arm around Rhonda as they walk toward the hallway. Everyone else sits there, awkwardly.
“Well, this is not how I pictured it,” Frankie says. “At all.”
“I think we need something stronger than orange juice,” James says to Carl as he stands up.
“Sure,” Carl says, pointing to a cabinet in the living room. “Follow me.”
Emerson stands up and looks at Frankie and Paige. Frankie stares at Emerson for a moment before she mouths the words, Be careful.
Emerson nods before she turns and hurries to the door. And just like that, she’s gone.
Outside.
Alone for the first time in a long, long time.
BUT NOT for long. She stands there for a minute, trying to decide what direction to go, when the car pulls up.
The relief she feels is instant and deep. Her mind whispers the words, Thank you, thank you, thank you over and over again.
He gets out.
She walks over and yells, “You better have a really good reason for leaving, or I swear I’m going to kick your ass and hand it to you on a silver platter.”
He tries to hold it in. He tries to hold back his laughter, but he can’t. He laughs and laughs as she stands there, glaring at him.
She shakes her head. “It’s not funny, Vince.”
“Yes,” he says. “You are. I’m sorry, but you are.”
And then, she can’t help but smile, too. Because she loves hearing him laugh. She loves that he’s here, telling her she’s funny when she’s completely and totally pissed off. She loves him, period. And that’s all there is to it.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” she says as she saunters up close to him. Gives him a kiss. “I thought you were gone forever.”
“Girl, you can’t get rid of me that easily. Don’t you know that by now?”
“We almost left. Did you think about that? That we might leave, and go home? Luckily, Carl and Trinity invited us inside.”
“I knew you wouldn’t leave,” he says. “I knew it’d be okay.”
“How’d you know?”
“I just did. I figured you could have a little bit of time with your family while I went and did something for all of you. All of us.”
“So, where’d you go?”
He opens the back door of the car and pulls out a guitar. “The next hour can either be heaven or hell. I say let’s have a campfire, sing ‘Kumbaya’ or ‘Country Roads’ or whatever the hell you want with your family, and try for a little of the good stuff.”
She stares at the guitar for a moment before she says, “Because there’s more to a book than an ending?”
Then she moves close to him again, and this time, takes his face in her hands, as she stands on her toes and kisses his soft lips one more time.
“That’s right,” he says. “Way more. And there’s still a lot of time to enjoy this story we’re in.”
“I’m sorry to say, at this point, there’s really not, Mr. Exaggeration.”
“Doesn’t matter, remember?” he whispers. “We have right now. And that’s enough.”
She kisses him again, longer this time. Then she says, “A campfire? With my crazy family? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he says, pointing to the trunk. “I even got us some firewood.”
“Do I want to know how you got this stuff?” she asks, eyeing him suspiciously.
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Well,” she says after she thinks about it for a second, “I guess sitting around a campfire, singing songs, beats sitting around the table, crying, which is about what was happening before I came out here.”
“Exactly,” he says. “And remember how I promised I’d tell you if there’s something you could do for me?”
“Yes.”
“Green Day’s ‘Time of Your Life’ was my mom’s favorite. Will you sing it with me?”
She nods. “Of course.”
“Good. Let’s go. You can help carry the firewood into their backyard.”
She goes around to the trunk and sees the five pieces of kindling. “I don’t know, Vince. Are you sure this is safe? That’s a lot of wood. We might burn the neighborhood down.”
“Hey, it’s all the guy had,” he says. “Better than nothing, right?”
“Which guy?”
“The guy who gave me the guitar and the firewood, who do you think?”
Emerson smiles as she starts to pick up the wood, then stops. “But what if Carl and Trinity want to be alone? We’re kind of invading their space, you know? Maybe we should ask them what they want to do.”
“Okay,” he says, setting the guitar in the trunk. “We can do that. If they don’t want us hanging around, there’s a park around the corner. The rest of us can go there.”
Emerson imagines them sitting around the fire, watching it sizzle and pop as they listen to Vince play.
Maybe Paige will dance.
Maybe Frankie will sing like a star.
Maybe her mom will stop crying.
She can only hope.
“What should we sing first, to get warmed up?” Vince asks as he comes around and takes Emerson’s hand.
“Well, if Trinity and Carl join us, maybe we should let Carl choose. Sounds like the guy’s been to hell and back.”
“At least he’s here,” Vince says.
Emerson looks up at the sky. The night is clear. The stars are bright. Incredibly vivid. “We could say the same about us, you know? Pretty amazing.”
He runs his hand down her arm, making it tingle. “Incredibly amazing.”
And then, they hear Frankie’s voice, yelling in the night air. “Emerson!” The two of them turn and see Frankie in the driveway, waving her hand, motioning them to come inside. “Hurry! You have to get in here. You’re not going to believe what they’re saying on the radio.”
Emerson glances at Vince. His half grin is as cute as ever. He squeezes her hand and they both start running.
“You still like surprises?” he asks as they go.
“You’re asking me that now?” Emerson says.
“Well, I still hate them,” he says. “And right now, I’m dying to know how this story ends.”
“It’s hard to say,” Emerson tells him. “But you gotta admit, whatever happens, the characters rocked it, didn’t they?”
When the two of them reach the front door, they stop. They can hear chatter and laughter inside the house.
Like a birthday party.
A celebration.
Vince laughs. “Girl, those characters totally rocked it.”
WHILE A whole lot has changed,
some things have remained the same.
The state fair is still
a fried-food mecca.
And a fresh strawberry milk shake
is summertime bliss in a cup.
Emerson and Vince race
tiny horses with squirt guns.
Vince wins a pink unicorn
and gives it to Emerson.
“Unicorns are magical,” he says.
Just like time, with its ability to change things.
Emerson and Frankie now share a little apartment and
go to Portland Community College together.
Vince lives with Carl and Trinity.
He works at the café with Phillipe,
baking macarons and muffins,
and scones served with jam.
“Ready for the carousel?” Emerson asks.
Vince kisses her. “Ready. And after that, the Tilt-A-Whirl!”
Carousels still go around.
Second chances are real.
Wishes really do come true.
Stories end.
And new ones
begin …
LISA SCHROEDER is the author of over a dozen books for kids and teens,
including the YA novels I Heart You, You Haunt Me and The Bridge from Me to You. She loves tea and cookies, flowers, family hikes, books and movies that make her laugh and cry, and sunshine. Living in Oregon, she doesn’t get nearly enough sunshine, but the hikes are amazing. You can visit her online at www.lisaschroederbooks.com or on Twitter at @lisa_schroeder.
ALSO BY LISA SCHROEDER
The Bridge from Me to You
Falling for You
The Day Before
Chasing Brooklyn
Far from You
I Heart You, You Haunt Me
FOR YOUNGER READERS
My Secret Guide to Paris
Charmed Life:
#1: Caitlin’s Lucky Charm
#2: Mia’s Golden Bird
#3: Libby’s Sweet Surprise
#4: Hannah’s Bright Star
It’s Raining Cupcakes
Sprinkles and Secrets
Frosting and Friendship
Copyright © 2015 by Lisa Schroeder
All rights reserved. Published by Point, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, POINT, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schroeder, Lisa, author.
All we have is now / Lisa Schroeder.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-545-80253-6
1. Conduct of life—Juvenile fiction. 2. Friendship—Juvenile fiction.
3. Families—Oregon—Portland—Juvenile fiction. 4. Portland (Or.)—Juvenile fiction. [1. Conduct of life—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Family life—Oregon—Portland—Fiction. 4. Portland (Or.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S3818Al 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014038372
First printing, August 2015
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
Cover illustration © 2015 by Ellen Duda
Author photo by Left Turn Studio
e-ISBN 978-0-545-80336-6
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication 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 the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Lisa Schroeder, All We Have Is Now
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