The Last Words We Said
Page 27
Deenie loads the playback on her phone, clears her throat, and starts her first number. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I haven’t heard Deenie’s voice in months, or she’s singing with a new passion, but to me it’s the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. I barely breathe until she’s done.
I forget to clap when she takes a bashful little bow; I just sit openmouthed, grinning from ear to ear. Rae runs over to her and grabs her by the shoulders. “I don’t care if you don’t get the part,” she declares. “That was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Sing another one.”
Deenie doesn’t respond to the compliment, but her face glows. “What do you want me to sing?”
“I don’t care,” I tell her. “Your pick.”
“How about that song you and Danny liked?” Rae suggests. “ ‘Last Words’? As a tribute to him.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Rae says slyly. “Danny loved it when you sang that one.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask. “Danny never heard her sing. She wouldn’t let him.”
Deenie’s face has gone from a pleased pink to bright red. “Well—” She hesitates and glances toward the kitchen window. “Actually—”
“Actually what?”
Deenie looks too embarrassed to answer me, but Rae opens the side door and motions with her hand. “Ellie, why don’t you go outside?” she instructs. “Just stand by the trash cans for a moment.”
A memory is stirring now, but I’m still not sure what they’re getting at. I head out to the patio and walk up to the bins just as Rae pushes open the kitchen window.
There’s a faint sound of laughter from inside, and then Deenie’s crystal voice floats out to me.
“Oh, I’m dreaming about you, my darling
And what my life would be like if we didn’t last the day
Oh, please wake me
From this dream, my darling
So I can tell you I love you
And make sure we leave it that way…”
I remember now; the lyrics bring it all back. Deenie sent him out here once, knowing full well that he would be able to hear her if he stood in that spot. I’m standing just where he did that afternoon, and I can hear her as if she’s right in front of me.
As she sings, Danny joins me by the window. I can’t see him, but I can feel him in the music. I know that he’s with me and that he’s hearing her again.
“If it’s the last words that we say—” she sings. “If it’s the last words that we say—”
I close my eyes and listen with him.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Though the writing process is often a solitary one, the journey to publication requires a team of dedicated experts and a host of supportive volunteers.
To my amazing team, I’m so grateful that The Last Words We Said found a home at Simon & Schuster. Liesa Abrams, you showed me from our very first conversation that you felt for Ellie, Danny, Deenie, and Rae as much as I did. Your editorial suggestions were spot-on; my novel grew so much under your instruction. Kendra Levin, you helped me polish my manuscript and made me say, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” more times than I care to admit. Thank you to Kristie Patterson and Amanda Ramirez, to the sales and marketing team, and to the artists, Laura Eckes and Ana Jarén, who created the gorgeous cover.
To Rena Rossner, my incomparable agent and friend—this is our third novel together, and I hope this is just the beginning of our publication journey. I love that I can always count on you for advice, honest critique, and the best pastries I have ever tasted.
To my volunteers, I would never have had the confidence to write this very personal novel without all your guidance and support. To the Atlanta Jewish community, thank you for welcoming me and my family for the three years we lived in Toco Hills. Though the characters in this novel are entirely fictional, the warmth and hospitality of the congregation is very real. I will always cherish my memories of the shuls, the schools, the rabbis, and the teachers that shaped my children’s lives. Thank you to my young consultants, who advised me as I wrote the novel. Herschel Siegel, Shani Weinmann, and Zoie Wittenberg—your insight into high school life in Atlanta was invaluable.
Eliana Megerman, for the hours of book talk over sushi and ice cream, thank you.
To my parents, you encouraged me to write before I even knew I wanted to. I owe everything to you.
To Aviva (better known as the artist Avaya), I have listened to the song “Last Words,” which you wrote for the novel, more times than I can count. It makes me cry every time. (I hope everyone goes to Avaya’s YouTube channel to hear Deenie’s song!)
To Miriam and Talia, you are always my first beta readers and my biggest cheerleaders. I love you more than I can say. Ami and Dani, my twin three-year-old wonders, you keep me young. Literally. I don’t have a choice.
To Eric, the best husband and most patient father I have ever met—thank you for pushing me to write, even when the only thing I wanted to do was bake cookies and watch TV. I wouldn’t have published a single word without you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author photograph © 2021 by Sharon Ben Shabat
Leah Scheier was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. As a child, she was inspired by her favorite authors, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lloyd Alexander, and C. S. Lewis, to dream up tales of adventure and romance. Now grown up with three daughters and twin boys of her own, Leah works as a pediatrician and continues to create new stories.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Leah-Scheier
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
GLOSSARY OF HEBREW AND YIDDISH TERMS
bima:
podium (at the front of the synagogue)
daven(ing):
pray(ing)
frum:
religious
goyish:
non-Jewish
kavana:
devotion/concentration (here referring to intense concentration during prayer)
kippah:
skullcap, a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Orthodox Jewish males
kiruv:
“to bring one close”—introducing nonpracticing Jews to Jewish customs in order to acquaint them with the faith
mitzvot:
commandments (sometimes used to mean “good deeds”)
musaf:
afternoon prayers
Neilah:
the final prayer at the end of the Yom Kippur service
Shabbat:
the Jewish Sabbath and a day of rest, observed on Saturday
Shema:
a prayer declaring the oneness and sovereignty of God; traditionally the eyes are closed while reciting the first line to increase concentration
shiva:
the seven-day mourning period
shofar:
a ram’s horn which is traditionally blown during Rosh Hashanah services and at the end of Yom Kippur
shul:
synagogue
siddur:
prayer book
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text © 2021 by Leah Scheier
Jacket illustration © 2021 by Ana Jarén
Jacket design by Laura Eckes © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Scheier, Leah, author.
Title: The last words we said / Leah Scheier.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2021] | Audience: Ages 12 up. | Audience: Grades 10-12.
Summary: Nine months after Danny disappeared, his closest friends, Ellie, Rae, and Deenie, deal with their loss very differently but will have to share secrets about the night he
disappeared to uncover the truth. Chapters alternate between past and present.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020055971 | ISBN 9781534469396 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534469419 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Missing persons—Fiction. | Friendship-Fiction. | Secrets—Fiction. | Jews—United States-Fiction. | Loss (Psychology)—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.S34313 Las 2021 | DDC [Fic]-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055971