Read Loving Summer (Loving Summer Series) Online
Authors: Kailin Gow
Loving Summer (Loving Summer Series) (17 page)
Mom’s there, so she takes care of most of the funeral arrangements, which will take place within the next few days, but I can’t sit around in Aunt Sookie’s house doing nothing. I just can’t, because every time I do, I find memories coming back to me of times spent there with her. Every corner of her Malibu pad is filled with them. It’s filled with
her
, and that hurts.
I guess the others feel the same way. Nat spends his time out on the beach, staring out over the ocean. Drew and Rachel spend their time together, and it’s like someone has put a wall around them. I know I have to do something to help them, to help all of us deal with this. So I have an idea.
They aren’t sure about it at first, but the more I talk to them about it, the more certain we all seem to be. My idea is a simple one, but it means that we aren’t left with nothing to do, and it lets us say goodbye to Aunt Sookie in our own way. We arrange to hold the reception for the funeral in Aunt Sookie’s school, and we make full use of the stage there, putting it to the use it was designed for, for once.
We put on a production of the Princess and the Pirate, with the four of us in our accustomed roles, the roles she assigned us the first day we met at Aunt Sookie’s beach house. Only we do it with all the resources that the old theater has to offer, including a complete cast made up of almost all Sookie’s old students. That includes Astor playing the role of the king. I’m sure it must seem strange to the few friends and family of Aunt Sookie who don’t know the story, like her ex-husband, who I spot standing somewhere towards the back, but for most of us, it’s simply what we need to do right then, to pass along Aunt Sookie’s legacy through us and her students.
After that though… what? I head back to the beach house, telling my mom that there are still things I need to take care of there, and that I’ll be back in time for school to re-start. I get the feeling that she’s grateful for that, because it means that she can head back to be with Mrs. Donovan, helping her through the news that one of her closest friends has died. Almost as soon as I get back there, though, I know I’ve made a mistake.
The beach house is too empty. Drew, Nat and Rachel have all gone back to their home in San Francisco to deal with all the stuff that’s waiting for them there; from their parents’ postponed divorce to their mother’s depression. My mom is with them. And I… I’m alone. Alone in a house where just about everything makes me want to cry, because it reminds me too much of my aunt. And I still have a week of that left before summer vacation is over.
I’m still crying when the doorbell rings. It’s Astor, dressed in muted colors and with a worried expression, but still looking as great as ever.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, and then correct myself. “I mean…”
Astor takes my hands and kisses them softly. “I know what you mean, Summer. It’s all right.”
I shake my head. “No, it isn’t. I don’t think it’s ever going to be all right again.”
He holds me tightly then. “You shouldn’t be here. Not now. If you stay here, you’ll come to hate it, and Sookie wouldn’t want that. She’d want you to go on loving this place.”
“Where else can I go?”
Astor has an answer to that, in the form of an extra ticket to North Carolina. “Come out there with me for the last week of summer. I’m shooting a lot, but at least we’ll be together, and you won’t be stuck here alone.”
I barely even have to think about it before I agree. I phone my mom to tell her where I’ll be, pack a bag, and headed out with Astor before I can change my mind. I think it’s about the best decision I could make. Astor’s right. I don’t want to end up hating Aunt Sookie’s place. I don’t want to start thinking about it just as the place where I was all alone after her death. I want it to stay that magical place where we spent so many summers, and right now, that means being somewhere else.
It means being out in North Carolina with Astor. The film crew doesn’t mind that, because they’re used to me by now. Lindsay New even comes up to talk to me a couple of times without Astor around. She’s sweeter than I thought she’d be, and she’s very kind about Aunt Sookie. It turns out that she lost her mom when she was a kid, so she kind of understands.
Even so, I find myself missing the others, despite Astor’s best efforts to distract me. Even when he takes a day off to go hiking with me through the North Carolina country, I find myself thinking about how Drew, Nat and Rachel will be feeling. Just thinking about them makes something tighten sharply in my chest, and that makes me feel a small flash of fear in turn, because I’m almost paranoid about my health now, afraid of everything. If Aunt Sookie could die that young,
anybody
can.
When we get back from the hike, there’s a letter waiting for me. It’s obviously been around several places, and the last address, for the film shoot here, is in my mother’s handwriting. There’s a brief note from her in the envelope too, explaining that Aunt Sookie sent this a few days before her death, and that she’d forwarded it on because she thought I should read it. So I do.
Dear Summer
, it reads,
I’m sending this because there are some things I wouldn’t think of saying to you face to face. After all, you’re a teenage girl, and I know how easy it is to embarrass one of those. I was one, after all.
So I thought I’d put it down in writing just how much I’ve enjoyed having you here over the summer vacation. You and the Donovans. You’ve been such a positive influence on them this summer, working that natural magic of yours on them when they’re around. You’ve done them all a lot of good. Especially Drew and Nat.
I’ll admit I was worried about Drew when he was younger. He always wanted so much attention, and at the start of the summer, I think that still came out a little, don’t you?
I pause, thinking of all the girls he had around him, and find myself smiling. Aunt Sookie definitely has this part right. I keep reading.
Yet, with you there, he doesn’t seem to be nearly so hung up on that anymore. You’ve clearly been a very good influence. Then there’s Nat, of course. You may know how much pressure there is on him these days. His father wants him to run his company in the future. His mother… as much as I love Nadine, her current state of mind means that Nat has to help her with so many things. In theory, his father should be doing it, but theories rarely work out like that. Their marriage is not as strong as it might seem.
I shake my head. Aunt Sookie obviously mailed this before I found out about the divorce.
Then there’s Rachel. Sometimes, I think it must be hardest for her, being the only girl. That’s part of why I invited you all around. She needs you, and I think you need her too, Summer. As proud as I am of you, being an only child of a single mother, I think sometimes you do need the advice of a good friend. Now, you know how I am. I wasn’t anticipating that. I thought this would just be one more glorious summer for all of us. I thought that my condition was nothing to worry about. Who knew that things would get quite so difficult? Still, maybe by the time you read this, my operation will have had the desired effect, and I’ll be the old Aunt Sookie again (not that old, though).
I have to stop for a minute there, wiping away tears. It’s a while before I can make myself continue reading.
Of course, it’s also possible that things won’t have gone so well. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you, and I love the Donovan children. It’s the closest thing to a real family I’ve had. Who knows, maybe one day we will even be a family, because I know how much you love Nat, and I can see that you feel plenty for Drew too.
I suspect that if you ever settle on either of them, they will be lucky young men. They can certainly use your influence in their lives. I know that Nat would benefit greatly by having you by his side when he finally takes over his father’s company, while Drew… well, maybe you can help him to finally love himself the way you clearly do.
You’re probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned Astor at this point. You might even be taking it as evidence of my disapproval. That isn’t quite true (and thankfully, you aren’t Rachel, to do something just because someone disapproves). I think that Astor is a lovely boy, and a good student. I think that he will be even more successful as an actor than he currently is, and I think that is possibly the problem.
I have done the Hollywood marriage thing, darling, and it consumes everything. The work and the image take over until there isn’t anything else left. You start out with someone you love, and quickly, you find that you’re left with just their corporate brand, or their ego. You find that running away from the press gets old, and that no one is interested in you as a person. It is a lot to risk. And it takes someone really grounded to be able to handle that. Of course, it might be that Astor is just wonderful enough to be worth the risk, but I’m sure that Nat and Drew love you too.
I know that whatever you decide, you’ll be happy, Summer, and that is the only thing I could ever wish. Whatever happens in the rest of this summer, whatever happens the rest of your life, it’s important that you are happy, and stay that way. Even if things don’t go the way I hope with my treatment, or if something else happens, remember that. We’ve had some wonderful times in the beach house over the years, and those are what I want you to take away with you. Not anything else.
Here’s hoping that you get to make many more happy memories there yet.
Aunt Sookie.
I read that, and then read the whole message over again. It’s so uniquely, totally, Aunt Sookie. I have to pause again partway through, but this time when I make it to the end, I very carefully fold up the paper. There’s so much in there. Things that I’d like to think Aunt Sookie might have said to me one day, but like this, it’s just as real. And she’s right about one thing. I know I can’t let this summer be the last happy summer we have at the beach house. Aunt Sookie would have wanted the summers with the Donovans and I to continue at the beach house…we’re her children after all. We have to keep her school alive and her summer memories alive.
Although I’m in North Carolina with Astor, I get out my phone and text each one of the Donovans:
SEE YOU NEXT SUMMER OR SOONER.
Rachel: Sooner
Drew: Soon. Very soon. I miss you already.
Nat: Can’t commit to a time, but I do want to see you again.
****
Summer, Drew, Nat, Rachel, and Astor’s story continues in
Book 2 of the Loving Summer Series
Perfect Summer (Loving Summer Series #2)
February 2013
A Note from Kailin Gow
Thank you for reading Loving Summer. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you enjoyed it, I appreciate you letting others know. Positive reviews and word-of-mouth is very much appreciated, too. And you never know, if my publisher likes your glowing review so much, you may find it quoted in the next Loving Summer book.
That’s one of the best support any author can ask for!
I love hearing from my readers! You can reach me at:
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If you enjoyed
Loving Summer
,
you may enjoy
Saving You Saving Me,
too!
Aspiring psychiatrist Samantha Sullivan (Sam) never thought she would fall for the one mysterious guy she has been speaking to over the phone for months, the boy the counselors called Daggers. She wasn't supposed to talk to him outside of their sessions. But as she began to peel the layers of Daggers and learn who he is, the one boy she is supposed to be saving, might just be the one who is saving her. A YA-Mature romance from Kailin Gow with a real life tie-in to a community crisis help site inspired by this book.
Visit The Saving You Saving Me Project
At:
http://www.SavingYouSavingMe.com
OTHER BOOKS FROM KAILIN GOW
The FROST Series
The PULSE Series
Wicked Woods Series
Desire Series
Steampunk Scarlett Series
