Heaven Falls

By Winslow Eliot

People flock to "Heaven Falls" to be pampered. But they also come for romantic interludes with strangers - no strings attached. "You CAN buy love," says the brochure. Unemployed Tess is thrilled when she’s promised a job and a home there. Before long, she too falls in love. But it is not heaven, and her world crumbles. She has no one to turn to for help except for the man who betrayed her.

AWARD WINNER - 1st Place Romance Category from READER VIEWS! "Wonderfully imaginative...filled with unexpected twists...a truly engaging book. I enjoyed the author's style, the plot, the highly complex characters. The romance between Tess and Jason was believable, the twists and turns exciting...suspenseful, the descriptions of essential oils at the beginning of each chapter some of my favorite parts..."Heaven Falls" is one of those stories that you won't want to start unless you have a long, lazy weekend ahead of you...It won't let you get much sleep until you finish it."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Winslow Eliot
• Release date: Apr 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9780984108398

Winslow Eliot

Award-winning author of suspenseful and romantic novels: PURSUED, HEAVEN FALLS, BRIGHT FACE OF DANGER, A PERFECT GEM, THE HAPPINESS CURE. I write a newsletter called "WriteSpa - An Oasis for Writers" which has been compiled into a book (plus WORKBOOK) called "WRITING THROUGH THE YEAR." Another non-fiction book is "WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THERE WAS NOTHING YOU HAD TO DO - Practices to create the life you want." I teach high school English at a Waldorf school and I also write poetry, read Tarot cards, love belly-dancing, singing, and people.

Book preview

Chapter 1

There were three things a psychic could not convince Tess of, no matter how much she charged: that she would go on a journey, that she would meet a handsome stranger, and that she would inherit a fortune.

She especially could not be persuaded on that particular day in August, the hottest on record in New York City. Nina, who always looked cool no matter what the temperature, could not understand Tess’s cynicism.

She’s amazing, Tess! She’s never been wrong.

Not yet, maybe. But she’s wrong this time. As they headed toward Broadway, their sandals sank slightly into the heated blacktop. I’ll always be a single mom, destined for welfare, especially if you keep making me fork out a week’s salary on a fortune teller. What did she tell you about your life?

But Nina would not say.

It’s soooo hot, Tess moaned. I’d be cooler sitting in front of my oven.

Vague images of cool mountains, refreshing lakes, the shadowy stillness of deep woods, shimmered like mirages in her mind. She hated the fact that her ten-year-old daughter, Freya, had endured most of her long, smoggy summer vacation in their tiny apartment with her invalid aunt. Tess had had to work as many hours as she could, trying to pay off at least some of the bills.

Thank God for Nina, her best friend, who was always willing to share her daughter’s nanny with Freya. But Tess couldn’t help feeling guilty. She would never be able to return even a portion of Nina’s generosity.

At least now school was in session again. She was on her way there now, to pick up Freya after class.

Let’s get our girls together tomorrow, Nina suggested when they parted ways on Fifth Avenue and Nina got into an air-conditioned taxi. Here, take my cell phone in case I need to get in touch with you.

Tess accepted it reluctantly, knowing how frustrating it was for her friend to be unable to reach her, but also uncomfortable. She waved goodbye and headed towards the school. The squishiness under her feet was unsettling. Crossing the street, she was bumped and jostled by just too many people.

Would there ever be a way to escape the crowds, the noise, the drudgery of long hours working for hardly anything? To flee the stress of unpaid bills, the eyestrain, the hopelessness of her future?

Tess felt almost desperate. Soot-colored clouds darkened the sky, threatening a downpour.

Couldn’t she get away somehow – escape –

As she recalled what the psychic had said, her heart shifted.

Why couldn’t she go on a journey? And, okay, maybe the inheritance thing was nuts, but what about the handsome stranger? She was only thirty-five, and a friendly, decent person. There was no reason to be alone for the rest of her life.

For a moment a strong determination almost triumphed. Why couldn’t she leave New York City? Freya would thrive wherever they went. And she herself could surely find work to support them both. She had plenty of experience; she just hadn’t been able to accept a steady job because she had to take care of Freya and her aunt. But, truthfully, what was security besides another word for penny-pinching worry?

A burst of longing for adventure engulfed her. The world was enticing, with sounds and sights that she yearned to experience. She had never been abroad, had hardly been out of New York. Surely there was some way she could rise above the misery of poverty, and move to a fresh, new place.

The heat seemed to intensify as she hurried toward the school to meet Freya.

Her longing to escape was almost overpowering.

She took a deep, sobering breath, forcing her heart to become sensible again.

She could not leave New York City because she could not leave her bossy, beloved Aunt Cory.

Tess was all Cory had left.

Tess Duncan’s Aunt Cory was an opinionated, strong-willed woman who had once been a celebrated journalist. Tess’s own mother had died when she was a baby, and Aunt Cory had raised her unconventionally and devotedly. She refused to allow her to watch television, believing that it had a bad effect on young children. Instead, she encouraged Tess to draw with beeswax crayons, to knit, and even to bake bread from the time she was a toddler. She forbade any plastic toys in the apartment; instead they gathered twigs and pinecones from Central Park and created landscapes with miniature flowers made of colored paper and populated with gnomes made from acorns.

As Tess grew older, some of her aunt’s rigid rules relaxed. They even had a television for a while, but as soon as Tess’s unexpected baby, Freya, joined their household, Aunt Cory ranted about the effect of screen media on brain development, and left it on the sidewalk with a sign that said T.V. Is Bad For You.

It was gone within a matter of minutes.

Last spring Cory had suffered a stroke, and underwent bypass surgery, but her spirit and her mind were still feisty and inquiring. Tess loved her aunt with a fierce protectiveness bordering on awe. She knew it wasn’t her aunt’s poor health that had ended her career as a distinguished journalist. It was Tess herself. Until the time of Tess’s birth, Cory had been at the forefront of the feminist movement in the late sixties and early seventies. Her friends had included Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem.

But in order to be able to stay home with Tess, she’d turned to freelance writing, and then to copy-editing. Eventually her friends in journalism moved away or moved on, and the work dried up. Thank God for the rent-controlled apartment she’d lived in since the middle of the last century, and that heat was included in the lease. But there were times when their electricity had been turned off for months at a time, and they hadn’t used the gas stove in years.

Then, it hadn’t helped when Tess had gotten pregnant. She was on her way to a promising marketing career; she’d taken courses at the New School, and had a rising job at a publishing house. All that ended when she’d met Max, and nine months later Freya was born.

She and Cory took turns taking care of the baby, but both their incomes continued to shrivel. And when Aunt Cory’s health problems worsened, they found themselves in a scary whirlpool of debt from which there seemed no way out.

Success. In many cultures, Bay represents the noble virtues of power, wisdom, and victory. Bay was popular with the ancient Egyptians and the Romans as a symbol of protection and peace. In Ancient Greece, the priestesses at Delphi breathed burning bay fumes to increase their visions. Its sweet, spicy fragrance has a sedative and warming effect. When you’re feeling fragile or fearful, use bay to give you confidence and stamina.

Heaven Falls Essential Oils

Chapter 2

Tess arrived early at the private school that Freya attended. She waited across the street, in the shade of a sycamore, for her daughter to emerge from the marble entrance, trying to imagine the dusty, muggy breeze was refreshing.

As she waited, she grew aware of a stranger standing nearby, glancing occasionally at her. He seemed vaguely familiar, and yet she did not know him.

Was he a new parent at the school?

The next time their eyes met, she smiled at him and he came over.

Are you Tess Duncan?

She nodded, surprised.

Jason Garrison, he announced, shaking her hand.

"Jason who?"

Max’s brother, he explained.

She was too startled to speak. She hadn’t heard from Max in eleven years.

Max’s brother. No wonder he’d seemed familiar.

She dropped her eyes to the pavement, wishing she hadn’t been so friendly. She had no interest in anyone even remotely connected with Max. So, how is Max?

He was killed about a few months ago in a car accident. Didn’t you know?

No! Her eyes flew up again, startled. Max – Freya’s father – was dead! Some dried-up brown leaves rustled around her bare ankles in a breath of warm wind and she stepped away from them. Had he left something for Freya when he’d died? She grew hopeful. A small legacy, perhaps, for the daughter he’d refused to acknowledge? I’m sorry.

Jason stared back, as though assessing whether she meant that. His cobalt eyes were wide apart and hard. His fair hair was cropped short, his angular face tanned. His mouth tilted up slightly. He hadn’t smiled, but she had a feeling that if he did there might be a dimple in his freshly shaven cheek. In spite of his oddly disquieting expression, there was something appealing about him.

Then she heard him say coldly, We’d like to invite you to Max’s house to live.

She felt jarred, as though Max were still alive and had summoned her. For a moment she was transported to eleven years earlier, when she would have sold her soul to hear those words from Max himself. She drew herself back to the present and studied this stranger suspiciously. From the top of his expensive haircut to his polished handmade shoes, he shouted Money. In between there were glittering bits of wealth that hollered too, like his Rolex watch, and the handcrafted leather belt.

What happened between Max and me all those years ago has nothing to do with the rest of you, she pointed out.

Maybe, but the Garrison family would like you to move to Heaven Falls. Live there. His voice was slightly domineering, and that bothered her. And yet –

Quickly she lowered her eyes to hide her longing for escape that she was sure must be evident. What a strange offer! Her heart was thumping.

Then she pulled herself together. She could not leave Aunt Cory. And besides … Max’s family!

I hardly knew Max, she said, looking up again and regarding him frankly. We were only together for a few months. I’m not grief-stricken by his death. To tell you the truth, by the end I didn’t even like him much. I think the feeling was mutual.

That doesn’t make any difference.

Then why are you inviting me? It doesn’t make sense.

There was a long pause, and from his expression she was sure he was going to say something outrageous. Instead he said:

Because of Freya. Max’s daughter. My mother would like to see her granddaughter.

Of course he must have known about Freya, otherwise why was he waiting outside her school? If Tess hadn’t already been there, would he have tried to entice Freya to Heaven Falls alone?

Fear tightened her chest. The Garrisons were notoriously ambitious, wealthy beyond belief. If they wanted Freya, how could she possibly fight them? If they were anything like Max, they were ruthless.

She swallowed.

Then she heard the bell ring inside the building across the street and she stood up straight and faced him.

Being afraid was not like her. No one could take Freya from her!

No, thanks, she said, abruptly. We don’t want anything to do with your family.

No, wait. You’ve misunderstood.

Get away from me and stay away from my daughter. Freya and I are not going anywhere.

He started to argue, then shrugged and stepped back. Hurriedly, Tess crossed the street and went inside the school building. She was not going to come out until she was certain that Max’s brother had gone.

She waited in the cool lobby, chatting with some other parents, wondering if Max’s brother was still there or whether he had given up and left. He didn’t seemed as though he had any desire for her to move in with his family – in fact, the way he’d said it sounded distinctly uninviting. Still, she felt unnerved by the encounter and wished Freya would appear. At last she did, surrounded, as usual, by friends.

If there was anything in the world to inspire faith and happiness in a person, Tess always thought, it had to be a ten-year-old girl like Freya. In her mother’s prejudiced view, she epitomized the beauty, bliss, and wisdom of childhood. Tess’s heart always expanded when she saw her daughter skip down the wide steps and dance into her waiting arms.

Freya’s hair was dark and wavy, and her eyes behind the glasses were honey brown. She was small for her age, but seemed advanced (in her mother’s opinion) in intelligence and insight. Both Tess and her aunt adored her passionately. So, it appeared, did her teachers and most of her classmates.

On the subway ride home, Tess said nothing to Freya about the unexpected encounter with her father’s brother. Some years ago, when Freya had asked her, she had told her daughter a little about Max, but she had been relieved when Freya lost interest in the subject. She knew her daughter’s curiosity would surface again, but she was grateful to be able to put it off as long as possible. Not that there was much to tell. She’d fallen madly in love with a wealthy, sexy playboy, who turned out to be a cad.

Nothing much there. Just another one of life’s lesson learned.

And she certainly had learned it. She hadn’t dated a wealthy, sexy playboy again.

Not that she’d had the opportunity. She smiled to herself, a bit grimly.

Holding hands, they wandered through the muggy heat to their apartment building in the East Village. Tess had just gotten a paycheck, and there was pasta for dinner, and a cozy evening ahead with Cory helping Freya with homework, working on a sewing project, and reading aloud together.

Maybe life wasn’t exciting, but it was peaceful.

Except when they were stressed out about the unpaid bills.

Except when they had to give up their phone. And any day now the electricity was going to be turned off again.

That was going to be pretty bad. Still, she couldn’t think about it just then: she had to focus on the present moment. The intense humidity thickened into summer rain just as they reached the apartment building. Laughing at the drops, they skipped inside the poorly lit lobby and climbed the narrow flight of stairs to their third floor apartment. Loud strains from a Rachmaninoff piano concerto on the radio filtered into the drab hall through their apartment door.

It was unlocked. That was unusual.

Helloooo, Aunt Cory, Freya sang out.

Silence.

A thick rainy gust churned the gauze curtains in the open windows. Tess stood stockstill in the doorway.

Oh, my God, she whispered.

Aunt Cory sat slightly slumped on the chintz couch, her eyes open and unmoving.

Tess gulped, whispered, Auntie? but it was obvious even from across the room that her aunt was dead. Her gold bangles draped inertly on her age-spotted arm. A circle of amber and jade beads nestled motionless in the soft ridges of skin around her throat.

Freya stood frozen in place as well, her face white.

Oh, Mom. Oh, Auntie. Her voice came out a scared whisper. She’s dead, isn’t she?

On the radio, a commentator spoke in a soothing voice about the concert they had just heard. Tess switched him off.

Yes, she said, and wondered what to do next.

Freya waited, silent with shock.

Should they call 911? But it wasn’t an emergency – obviously Aunt Cory had had another stroke and this time she died. Call the police? Or a funeral home? Tess wanted to sit down, because she felt faint, but knew she had to do something.

What do we do? asked Freya at last.

I don’t know, Tess admitted.

Should she cover her aunt with a sheet? But it seemed rude, to cover someone who was sitting up on the couch like that. She would have liked to close her aunt’s eyes, but felt too squeamish.

She put her arms around her daughter. Dearest Aunt Cory. Let’s just think about her for a moment. I’ll get a candle.

Lighting an old candle she found in a kitchen drawer, she tried to remember a prayer they could say.

Freya, she asked, her voice shaking as she carefully placed the candle on a saucer. Can you think of a prayer?

‘Earth that gives us all our food?’ asked Freya, her voice also trembly.

Yes, that one’s fine.

‘Earth that gives us all our food, sun that makes it ripe and good, dearest earth and dearest sun, we’ll not forget what you have done.’

They stood enfolded in each other’s arms while the old candle sputtered in the damp breeze from the open window.

Eventually Tess pulled herself together. She had to do something.

Since the phone was disconnected, she rummaged in her purse for the cell phone that Nina had insisted on loaning her, and discovered the battery was dead as well.

Encouragement. Rosewood has an overall balancing effect on your emotions. Use it when feeling low, weary, and over-burdened with problems: it will lift your spirits. It helps to cure headaches and works as an antiseptic. Distilled from the heart of the tree itself, the oil’s stimulating and warming qualities can also be used as an aphrodisiac.

Heaven Falls Essential Oils

Chapter 3

Jason looked up at the narrow apartment building. A few morning glories trailed from a window box on the third floor, but everything else seemed desolate and lifeless.

Glancing again at the newspaper clipping in his hand, he pressed the buzzer.

This should not be too hard.

Who is it? He heard Tess’s voice.

Jason Garrison.

He sensed her sharp hesitation, but he wasn’t surprised when she buzzed him inside. After all, it was mid-morning, so Freya was safe at school. And Tess seemed smart enough to want to keep her options open.

Shoving the obituary into his pocket, he took the stairs, two at a time.

Hello again. He nodded politely, but this time they did not shake hands.

Hi.

He followed her into the living room, avoiding a pile of old magazines stacked by the door. A bus pulled up at the stop directly below the balcony, and then set off with a roar. Exhaust fumes floated in through the open window.

Want to sit? She gestured to a stained, scratchy-looking sofa.

I’m okay. He tried to hide his distaste. I heard about your aunt. I’m sorry.

I think she was ready.

Yes, but it can’t be easy.

How did you know she died, anyway?

He took out the newspaper clipping. Didn’t you write this?

She glanced at the New York Times obituary. Ms. Cory Duncan, distinguished editor and civil rights activist from the 1960’s and ’70’s... funeral service private... As she read it silently to herself, he watched her eyes fill.

Coffee? she offered, blinking hard and handing back the clipping.

Okay.

He followed her into the kitchen area. Her back was gracefully erect, her hips swaying in the low-waist velour sweats. She wasn’t wearing a bra under the skimpy tank top and, seeing that he noticed, she reached for a sweatshirt that hung over the back of a chair.

Her head popped out of the neck and they looked at each other again.

How did you find out about Freya anyway? she asked shortly, filling a saucepan with water. Max didn’t even believe me when I told him I was pregnant. He denied the baby was his.

I don’t know anything about what Max said. What’s important is that our family meets its responsibilities. We really want you to move to Heaven Falls. We’d take good care of you both.

This is so strange.

For a moment he saw a hunger in her faraway gaze that he recognized. She, too, was seeking. Not just for a way out of the appalling apartment, but for purpose and meaning…

They were kindred spirits. What’s strange? he asked, intently.

Her gaze shifted back to him suspiciously, and the moment was gone. What do you want from me, really? she demanded. Because you can’t have Freya. Not now, not ever.

Of course not.

I’m not setting foot in a place where some weird relatives are telling me they want my daughter. Forget it.

He wasn’t sure what to say. Wasn’t she desperate to get out of there?

Okay, it’s not because of Freya then. It’s you. My grandmother wants to meet you.

Why? She handed him a mug of coffee.

Again he was nonplussed by her directness. He wasn’t sure how much to tell her.

A few months ago he’d returned to Heaven Falls to help straighten out the chaotic accounts his brother had left behind when he died. While he had been dispiritedly trying to trace a missing twenty-five thousand dollars, he had discovered that similar sums had disappeared annually over the past seven years. Within the context of a sixty-million-dollar budget, the money was somewhat intriguing to unearth, since it had been taken from various places. Someone with budget approval over various accounts must be involved.

Max?

Of course.

Extravagant, womanizing, dissolute Max. Filching a paltry few thousand dollars from his own business was just the kind of sleazy excitement he’d relish. When he’d been alive, Max had tried his busy, scheming hand at every game imaginable, and the multimillion dollar health resort was only one of too many enterprises that demanded his attention. It wasn’t the first time he’d dipped into Heaven Falls' coffers in order to finance some other project.

Since Max was not around anymore, there was no point in mentioning it to the rest of the family. Especially not to Isabel, their besotted, grief-struck mother. Jason had decided to let the matter drop – until he’d come across a receipt from a private school in New York City. The amount was just over $20,000, and it specified tuition payment for a fifth-grader named Freya Duncan. With just a little more investigation he learned the girl’s mother had had an affair with Max.

Looked a lot like blackmail to him.

Little as he wanted to, he decided he’d better call a family meeting. The concept of consensus had been integrated into the family’s organization ten years ago, and by now hardly any decision could be made without everyone – family or committee member – agreeing to it. The process made it practically impossible for things to move forward at any reasonable pace, and he hated it.

But he was only here for a short while, so what the hell. He’d play by the rules.

They had met in his office: Isabel, his mother, who sat nervously in an armchair between her husband, Ari Kefalas and Philip, his brother, who was in a wheelchair. His spine had been crushed in the same car accident that had killed Max. Lucia Ferris, his grandmother, the matriarch of the family and the owner of Heaven Falls, sat alone like a tiny queen in the middle of the black leather couch.

Jason passed around the receipt, reported briefly on his discovery, and recommended that they call Robert Peters, their lawyer, for advice. Before anyone could agree or object, Lucia spoke up, surprising them all.

I already know about this girl, and her daughter. I’ve known about her for years. When I die Heaven Falls will belong to her. I made the arrangements with Robert Peters several years ago. Her black eyes glittered dangerously. Tess Duncan would have been my granddaughter-in-law if Max had married her, as he should have done.

They all stared.

How did you know? Philip demanded.

Never mind that! she snapped back.

But how do you know for sure this woman’s daughter is also Max’s daughter? Isabel asked, her voice strangled.

Naturally, I know, Lucia replied, contemptuously. She is my great-granddaughter.

Then were you the one who paid for her education? Jason asked.

No, Lucia said. I know nothing about schools and such. But there is one more thing. The most important thing. I do not want either of them to know about the inheritance. If they find out, I will leave everything to the women’s shelter instead. This is clearly stipulated in my will. Peters has detailed instructions. Do you all understand?

Everyone in the room was horrified, even Jason.

Don’t do this, he said.

No, don’t. Why would you want to? Ari Kefalas asked.

I want her to come to Heaven Falls and learn to love it, without knowing that one day it will be hers. I want her to know it with her heart, not with her head.

Lucia had always been crazy about Heaven Falls. It meant more to her, they all believed, than any family member. Convinced the old lady was losing her mind, they had all tried to dissuade her.

But Lucia had ignored even Jason’s protests. I want them both at Heaven Falls. Bring them here now. They are part of our family. They will bring light into our dark.

Regarding Tess now as they stood in her apartment, Jason wondered why his grandmother had added that last cryptic statement.

She thinks there’s a sort of mystical connection between you, he made up. It’s not always easy to figure out what she has in mind. She’s also the owner of Heaven Falls and sometimes acts like queen of the realm. You know about Heaven Falls, right?

A little.

He took a sip of coffee and grimaced. He detested instant. As he set the mug on the table, a sheet of paper caught his eye.

An eviction notice.

Anyway, he glanced back up at her, keeping his voice neutral, all you have to do at this point is just visit. See how you like it. You’ll also meet my mother, your daughter’s grandmother. We’ll give you a tour and set you both up with some comps at the resort. If you decide you want to move, fine. If not, at least you’ll have had a nice getaway weekend.

And he would have done what Lucia asked.

Tess was still eyeing him suspiciously. Her eyes were grey, ringed with dark lashes, and there were dark circles under them. She wasn’t exactly beautiful, but there was a sweetness and intelligence about her face that drew him. I can’t believe anyone who’s related to Max would care about some kid he fathered ten years ago, she stated flatly.

We’re not all like Max.

But she shook her head incredulously again, and turned to gaze out of the window. He went on watching her. Her thick brown hair just reached her shoulders, and the unbrushed curls made her look wantonly sexy and sleepily innocent at the same time. The planes of her cheeks were smooth, her gray eyes dreamy behind their sadness. He glanced again at the eviction notice. Three months behind in rent.

Hey, he drew her back to her surroundings. How about just visiting this weekend, for starters? We can drive up together on Friday.

Tess hesitated. I have to think it over.

He wished she hadn’t put on the sweatshirt over the thin tank top she’d been wearing.

Damn Max. Everything he’d touched had been spoiled.

Abruptly, he got to his feet.

"Sure, Tess. Think it over. You live in a hole in the wall, and you’re way behind in rent. You have medical bills that you couldn’t pay off in a lifetime. Your job hardly covers your electric bill. Think it over. We’ll pay off all your outstanding bills, and we’ll pay for your daughter’s private education, including any college of her choice. We’ll set up a trust fund for her. If you take a job at Heaven Falls you’ll earn a six-figure salary. You’ll live in a house that’s been featured in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, and Town and Country. You’ll have unlimited access to all the amenities of a world-class health resort. He looked at her coldly but sympathetically. Sure, think it over. And I’ll come by for you and Freya on Friday afternoon, right after school’s out. We’ll drive to Heaven Falls all together."

Kindle. Helichrysum, also known as Immortelle and Everlasting, has a rich, warm, bittersweet aroma. Use it to increase energy – it can lift you out of lethargy and help you overcome resistance to change. It’s also healing to the heart. Closely related to the sunflower, the sun-gold helichrysum can be used to enhance dream states and to kindle inspiration.

Heaven Falls Essential Oils

Chapter 4

As Tess and Freya walked home from the subway later that afternoon, Tess told her daughter about Jason’s weekend invitation. She had decided not to let her know about her relationship to the family yet.

One step at a time.

Freya turned horrified eyes to her. "You haven’t forgotten? I’m invited to Long Island this weekend with Lottie! It’s her birthday! You said I could go! You were going to come too! Don’t you remember?"

Darn. No, I’d forgotten. Oh, well, we’ll just have to go to Heaven Falls another weekend. In a way, she was relieved. Yes, she was curious to meet Freya’s wealthy relatives. But the idea was kind of scary too.

You could go, Freya said after a moment. Who are these people?

Tess hesitated. Your uncle. Your grandmother. She didn’t say it out loud. Actually, maybe it would be better if she went by herself first and met them all. If they were as abhorrent as Max had turned out to be, she would have nothing more to do with them, and spare Freya from meeting them until she was older.

They own a health resort. I met one of them a long time ago. You’re right: I could go by myself. I’d be getting a ride up there. She realized uncomfortably that she was looking forward to seeing Jason again, and she changed the subject. Did you tell Mr. Wolfgang about Auntie’s memorial?

Oh, sure.

What’d he say?

He made a long speech to the class about how your body is a temple and her soul has left the temple and is filled with light ... I wasn’t really paying attention. Lottie was passing notes and got into trouble. He said he’ll call you tonight.

They crossed the busy street, holding hands. The light switched to green, and the intersection gridlocked. A choir of angry horns rattled the crowds dodging and bumping in the center of the crosswalk. How could she turn down Jason’s offer, even if the family turned out to be awful? There was nothing left for them here except bills – and possibly even eviction.

She swallowed back the panic.

How would you feel about moving to the country? she asked, when they were safely across.

Serious??

Maybe.

The coolest. What about Lottie?

Nina would bring her for weekend visits, and we’d come to the city pretty often. We wouldn’t be more than a couple of hours away.

Is that where you’re going this weekend? To check it out?

Yes. If I think you might like it, we’ll go up again together so you can check it out, too.

Awesome, Mom. Freya found a piece of forbidden gum in