In memory of Nicole Lewanski

The Godfather
,” he grinned. “The 
actual
first draft. And they have the original notes and sketches from 
The Shining
by
Stanley Kubrick himself.”
There was a look of wonder in his eyes that went straight to my heart. On
impulse, I grabbed at the sides of his face and kissed him firmly on the mouth.
“What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason?”
B
EFORE
LONG
, 
IT
was the night before Graham and Dale were due to arrive, and I

---

spent it packing up my things. Gabe was out getting some last-minute supplies for
our trip. We planned to stay at his place the following night before leaving on
our big road trip first thing in the morning. I smiled, thinking about the big
adventure ahead.
“I’ll miss you,” I said to Apple, who wagged her tail at me anxiously. I picked
her up and gave her furry neck a kiss. “I’ll come back and visit you lots.”
I went to put her down when I heard my phone beep. It was a text from Lucy.
FaceTime?
Sure.
I realized it had been ages since I last spoke to her. I hadn’t even told her about
the road trip.
I found my laptop lying on the couch and pulled up the screen. A few
moments later, Lucy was there, grinning at me from the other side of the world.
“Hey, stranger,” she said.
“Hi! How have you been?”
“Great. How about you?”
“Really good!”
“How’s Gabe?”
“He’s doing great too.”
I was just about to bring up the road trip when she blurted out, “Anyway, I
have news! Big news!”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Well, guess who turned up on our doorstep today?”
“I have no idea, Lucy.”
“Guess!”
I sighed. “Okay, I know you’re dying to tell me, so just come out with
already.”
“Okay, 
fine
,” she said, in a singsong voice. She paused for dramatic effect. “It
was Candela!”
“Candela? Really?”
I hadn’t spoken to Candela since her dramatic departure with Dirk.
“Uh-huh. And do you know what else?”
“What?”
“She’s getting married, Audrey!”
“Married? To whom?”
“To Dirk.”
I groaned. “Seriously?”

---

“Actually, he’s cleaned up now. They both have. Candela looks fantastic! Dirk
took over his dad’s garage a few months back, and he’s been doing custom bikes.
It’s going really well for him. Apparently, some celebrity musician just ordered
one.”
“Really? Who?”
“She was pretty evasive about it, but I think it was Keith Urban.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Anyway, she still feels really shitty about what happened—you know, the day
when she stormed off. But she really wants you at her wedding. And even
though she can be a real shit sometimes, she’s still Candela. She’s practically
family.”
“I know,” I said, biting my lip.
“Will you come back?”
“When is the wedding?” I asked cautiously.
“Uh, well, it’s kind of late notice. You know what Candela’s like . . .”
“How late?”
“Well, it’s not 
this 
Sunday—”
“You are fucking kidding me.”
“It’s the Sunday after that,” Lucy finished. “Can you make it?”
I 
DIDN
’
T
GET
much sleep that night. I kept tossing it over in my head. I could
always come back here after the wedding, I thought. The road trip could wait a
few weeks. But already I could feel a tightness in my chest, as though something
was pulling me back into the past. Like when you’ve driven halfway to a dinner