Chapter
6
Memorial
Day
Avery
was especially subdued on July 4. I had been staying with the Hansons for
little more than a week. It wasn’t until I heard her crying softly just after
midnight that I remembered. Independence Day in 2002 was when her brother had
killed himself.
“Don’t
tell me you still can’t get over what happened three years ago,” Avery’s
younger brother, Mackenzie, said scornfully when the two of us came down to
breakfast.
“Mackenzie,”
Diana warned. “Leave your sister be.”
“Mom,
it’s all right,” Avery said quietly. She strode over to her brother and grabbed
him by the collar of his T-shirt. “You didn’t watch Taylor die, Mackenzie,” she
hissed angrily. “You didn’t try to keep him awake. I was there. The memory of
what happened to him is something I can’t forget. I’ll never be able to
forget. You might have forgotten, but I can’t.”
Mackenzie
raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, I give!”
Avery
let go of Mackenzie’s T-shirt and stepped back. Her anger had lasted only long
enough to tell her brother off. I smiled at her. “Good for you, Avery,” I said
quietly. She managed a faint smile.
“So
what do you girls plan on doing today?” Diana asked us.
Avery
looked at me. I nodded. “Well, today is three years since Tay died,” she said.
“Mackie’s right. I need to let go of what happened. I was thinking that we
could hold a memorial service today.” She looked down at her feet. “Actually,
it was really Kellie’s idea. If everyone’s going to be home today, can we hold
one?”
“Of
course, Avery. That’s a wonderful idea. You go and tell your brothers.”
A
smile appeared on Avery’s face. “Thank you!” she exclaimed. She turned and ran
back upstairs.
- x -
“Are
you sure we’re going about this the right way?” I asked. It was a quarter past
two that afternoon. Avery was French braiding her hair, and she was dressed all
in red.
“Kel,
I need to get on with my life. For the past three years I have been miserable.
But you know what? The pain is actually fading. It’s like he’s pushing me to
get on with my life.” She was referring to Taylor. “I’m at the stage where I
don’t need anyone’s permission to be happy again.” She smiled at her
reflection. “I’m ready to move on.”
“Your
mum’ll be happy to hear that.”
Avery
grinned. “I know.” She studied her reflection in the mirror. “I need a necklace
or something,” she muttered.
I
had brought the metal box I had found to Anaheim with me. I took it out of my
suitcase and handed it to Avery. “I couldn’t open it,” I said, not entirely
truthfully. “Maybe there’s something in it.”
Avery
ran her fingers over the smooth metal. “I have the key around here somewhere.”
She rummaged in her jewellery box and found a slender silver chain. Dangling
from it was a small silver key. She inserted the key in the lock and turned it.
The lid popped open. “Taylor’s necklaces,” she whispered.
“Why
don’t you wear one?” I asked.
“I
may as well.” She studied each of the necklaces and chose one with a silver
cross hanging off it. “This one.” She put it around her neck. “I don’t know how
he could wear them so tight,” she muttered. “Stupid chokers.”
I
checked my reflection in the mirror. “It’ll be casual, right?” I asked.
“Smart
casual,” Avery reminded me.
“Damn!”
I said. I rummaged in my suitcase and found my hipsters, my short-sleeved satin
shirt and my beret. I quickly changed and strapped my heeled sandals onto my
feet, showing off my newly-painted toenails and a silver toe ring. “Too
dressy?” I asked.
“Nope,
you look great,” Avery assured me. “And leave your hair out.”
I
touched my ponytail. “It’s too long,” I said.
Avery
reached over and pulled my ponytail out. “Kellie, your hair is not too
long,” she countered. “It’s just right. And if you cut it short I’ll kill you.”
“Whatever.”
I put on a little makeup and stepped back from the mirror. “Perfect,” I said of
my appearance. My mid-length, curly red hair tumbled over my shoulders - I
hated having it long, but I’d vowed to grow it. Besides, its length meant I
could experiment with it.
“I’ll
be surprised if at least one of my brothers doesn’t try and hit on you,” Avery
commented as we walked downstairs. “You look stunning.”
“I
think that’s an overstatement, Avie,” I said. “Doesn’t Zac have a girlfriend,
though?”
“I’m
not sure. He’s hardly ever home, so maybe that’s what he’s been up to aside
from soccer.”
“Maybe.”
Avery’s
two older brothers both still lived at home. Isaac had been at college for the
past three years, completing his Bachelor of Arts in film making. Zac played
soccer for a local team. Today was the first time I would be meeting either of
them.
Jessica
was running through some scales on her flute when we got downstairs. “Did you
call Summer and Mitch?” Avery asked her.
“Yeah,”
Jessica replied. “What songs did you say you wanted me to play this afternoon?”
“At
The Beginning and Higher Than Heaven,” Avery replied. “I think
Isaac’s been practicing those two.”
“Who’s
Summer and Mitch?” I asked.
“Mitch
is Avery’s boyfriend, and Summer is Mitch’s sister,” Jessica replied. “Twins.
Avery’s known them ever since we moved to Anaheim.”
“You
know, I think that Isaac and Zac are considering starting the band up again,”
Avery said. “I wouldn’t mind being part of it this time.”
“Same
here,” Jessica agreed. “We’re old enough. I could play the flute.”
“You’ve
been learning it long enough,” Avery agreed. “And I could sing.”
Jessica
opened a blue folder to the music for At The Beginning. “We’ll run
through the songs when Isaac and Zac get here,” she said. “They went out to the
mall to get new strings for Isaac’s guitar. The strings all snapped last night
when he tried to play it. Hadn’t touched it for two or three years. I could
hear him cursing all the way up in my room.”
“Isaac’s
room is in the basement,” Avery explained. I nodded, showing I understood.
The
memorial service started at three. Avery had made a photocopy of her letter the
day before. When the service was over, about 45 minutes later, Avery stood up
in front of everyone, struck a match and touched the flame to the paper. It
ignited and burned within seconds.
Avery,
Jessica and I shut ourselves in Jessica’s room for the rest of the afternoon.
For what was maybe the first time since I had known Avery, she was laughing and
joking around. “What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?”
she asked.
Jessica
and I both shook our heads. “The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have
no intention of driving!” Avery replied, laughing madly.
There
was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Jessica called. “And close the door behind
you!”
The
door opened, and Isaac and Zac walked in. “So what’s up?” Jessica asked.
“Band
stuff,” Zac replied. “Isaac and I have been talking, and we’ve also talked it
over with Mom and Dad. We’re ready to get back into the business. More than
ready. It’s time to put everything aside. And we want you and Avery to be a
part of it.”
“Really?”
Avery said, amazed. “You want us in the band?”
“We
sure do,” Isaac replied. “And Kellie too, if she wants to be in the band.”
“I’m
in, as long as I can play the flute,” Jessica agreed.
“I’m
in,” Avery agreed.
“And
me,” I agreed. “But I’ll need to ask my parents.”
The
phone on Jessica’s desk rang. She snatched the handset up and answered.
“Kellie, it’s for you,” she said.
I
took the handset from Jessica. “Hello?”
“Kellie,
it’s Callum. Mum said that we’re going back to Australia on Friday.”
“You’re
kidding! Can you put Mum on, please?”
Mum
came on the line. “Mum, we can’t be going back to Australia! Please, say we
aren’t!”
“I’m
sorry, Kel. But the Education Department in Sydney wants me to teach at your
old school again.”
“Can’t
I stay here?”
Mum
was silent for a few seconds. “Well, we did immigrate here. Are you absolutely
sure that the Hansons won’t mind you staying there on a permanent basis?”
“I’m
sure.”
“Well,
all right. But you must follow all their rules, and you must do your best to
become a part of their family. Understood?”
“Yes,
Mum. I understand. Can you bring all my stuff over?”
“Yes,
Kellie. We’ll see you on Thursday.”
I
hung up, then I started to cheer. “I’m in the band! I’m staying in America!”
