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.It seemed the universe had granted him the kindness to take him while he was in the very place he loved most in this world.The city did not have a church big enough to hold his services.There were too many men – men of all ages, who insisted that nothing was good enough for their coach but to memorialize him right there in the football stadium.The service took hours.So many people wanted to talk about him.To thank him.To say goodbye.A dog understands loss.A dog knows what it is to be in the presence of a body, its soul flown away.Sugar knew Luke was gone.She had the good fortune to be returned to her former home.Clare and Francis were still ticking along, even if slowly.Once again, and for the last time, they accepted a homeless child into their home.Sugar came to them as dog who seemed to understand that life was different now.The best of times were behind her.Still, she gifted the couple with her sweet disposition, her kind heart.She didn’t sleep in bed with anyone anymore.She had her own special place just in the spot her whelping box had long ago been.She slept there every night, never interested in a bone or a toy, but always with the ancient cell phone next to her.Then one night without event or injury, she too was taken in her sleep, her journey to find Luke finally at an end.CHAPTER SeventeenThis was the last time, the final ride.She tried to soak it in, all of it.Here they were again – the larger shooting star souls like herself and the tiny white twinkle lights moving down.Some were on their way to reunions and others to new beginnings.And then it occurred to her for the first time.Gabe had gone with her.He’d actually done it.That he would go back to Earth and be subject to whatever experiences awaited him, that was bravery, and true friendship.She owed him now more than ever before.She tried to envision where Luke had gone, which way he’d flown, but she could not get a sense of it.She was only ever able to feel him while he was on Earth.He was not there anymore.They’d had their time together.She was so grateful for that.She couldn’t control the rules, but she could certainly bend them.She had bent them.She was proud of herself.Exerting one’s free will was liberating.She’d known what she wanted and she’d gotten it.It would be difficult not to gloat.It wasn’t all victorious, however.Luke was now farther away than he’d ever been.He was reuniting with his soul mates on another world.He was having his assessment far away from her.And for that reason, something would always be missing on Castellans.The ride was slowing.Once again, the floor moved beneath her, the walls formed on all sides.For the first time, she felt as though she were actually returning home.For the first time, she was ready to be here.She was at peace.The corridor opened up before her.The light filled space filled her with warmth once again.Gabe’s door was open.She moved toward it.As she stepped into the corridor, she was immediately on her knees.The pain was back – back and worse than ever – back and unbearable.It captured her breath, so that she felt as though she were choking on the pain.She looked up from the floor towards Gabe’s office.She wanted to call for him, but she could not.She tried to counsel herself through it.Breathe baby, breathe.She inched forward on all fours.Holy crap, this was bad.Even as she crawled towards Gabe’s office, she wished it were the assessment room.She’d gladly go now.There was nothing else to hold out for.The assessment room meant relief.She used her arms to push herself up from the floor.She crawled to the closest wall.The cloudy white energy around her moved in closer.She didn’t fight it.She was begging for mercy.She received it.A flood of light and relief washed over her.It wasn’t sufficient to dispel the pain, but it lessened enough that she could move.She braced herself against the wall and rose to her feet.Finally, she reached the open door.She walked in and immediately used the chair next to her for support.Even as she let herself fall into the seat, she realized Gabe wasn’t here.Across his desk, sitting in his chair, was someone else.Her hair was fireball red, hanging in ultra tight ringlets to her chin.Her eyes were midnight blue, her face decorated with a multitude of freckles.She smiled at Grace’s entrance.“You’re here! Hello Grace!”Nobody on Castellans had ever welcomed her with so much zeal.“I’m Liz.”“Hi, Liz.I’m miserable.”The unexpected statement had Liz laughing before she could stop herself.Her smile revealed double dimples and a redness in her cheeks.“I don’t understand why this pain is back.We had it beat.It was gone.What the hell is this?”“Grace, this can be a confusing time.I’m sure you have a ton of questions.You’ll get all the answers when you have your assessment.”“Yeah, yeah.” She’d heard this all before.“Where’s Gabe?”“Gabe couldn’t be here.” Liz was still smiling, but the mirth in her eyes was gone.“Why not?”“That’s a long story.”Geez.Was it really going to be like this again?“Okay.Okay.Point me to my assessment.I’ll see him at my retreat.”Now the smile was gone, too.“Holy crap, Liz.What the hell is going on?”Liz paused for a moment, before she spoke again.When she said her next words, it seemed very much like she was just talking out loud to herself, more than she was to Grace.“Well, I don’t see what difference it makes at this point.It’s all a mess anyways.Gabe isn’t here.” She’d stopped talking, but she obviously had more to say.“Gabe’s not here.”“Okay, you said that.”Liz swallowed hard.“But Luke is.”Grace froze, completely.“What are you talking about? What the hell are you talking about?”“He arrived before you, Grace.I tried to get him to go to his assessment, but he refused to go without you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]