by Shari Arnold
“Um…yeah?” Crap. Maybe I didn’t think this all the way through. I figured this would be something Meyer would want to do. At least the Meyer I knew would, but who knows? Maybe this new version of Meyer doesn’t live for adventure the way the old one did. Maybe now that he’s not invincible he won’t want to risk his life at every turn.
He’s still studying me, trying to work something out. I can’t tell whether or not he believes I really want to cliff dive so I flash him an encouraging smile and say, “Cliff diving, yay!”
“How about this,” he says. “How about we go check out this rock and see what it’s all about, and if we decide it’s something we both want to do then we go from there. Does that sound good?” His eyes are sparkling, his mouth tipped up in a smile. At this moment I’m just so happy he wants to keep spending time with me I don’t really care what we do.
“Alright. I like this new plan,” I say, smiling back.
Meyer gathers his stuff and follows me to my car. The ride isn’t long, but in that short amount of time I learn that he’s living in Seattle, near UDUB. He doesn’t know what he wants to major in yet, but he really enjoys art. Oh, and creative writing. He was living with his uncle (his parents both died a long time ago, and he doesn’t really remember them much) and then a few months ago James showed up. He told him he was a close friend of his father’s and invited him to check out Seattle and later convinced him to stay and go to school here. He has no plans to leave anytime soon. He wants to graduate school before he thinks of doing anything else. And he likes it here. He says it feels right.
I smile at this, thinking about how it feels right to me as well. And how I owe James a big thank-you hug the next time I see him, which hopefully won’t be until I’m old and gray.
I like asking Meyer questions, mostly because he answers them. He even asks me things as well. He wants to know what my plans are after high school. He asks about my friends and my family. He seems strangely interested in the time I spend at the hospital, even asks if I’d mind him coming along one day.
I decide that new Meyer is amazing actually. Especially when he keeps glancing over at me and smiling.
And when we do get to the rock and find it’s not that big of a rock and not that big of a drop, we both decide to do it. To jump. Meyer takes my hand and squeezes it tight and on the count of three we close our eyes and step off the rock together. The water is freezing — who the hell told me it was a warm spring? But we don’t care. We climb back up on the rock, and we do it again. And it doesn’t feel like such a big risk. Not with Meyer.
It feels like living.
Acknowledgements
Without J. M. Barrie’s imagination I never would have spent most of my life thinking about a boy who could fly. I also never would have been reminded, at the age of twenty, that magic does exist when I stumbled upon his Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens.
Thank you.
This story has traveled with me for a while and because of that there are many people to thank.
To the amazing Jessica Spotswood whose insightful edits helped encourage and strengthen the story of my heart.
Again a big THANK YOU to Michael Weaver who is always willing to make sure my words make sense. =) Your patience with me is immeasurable.
To the Binders who share my love of all things YA — thank you for sharing your experience, wisdom and encouragement. And thanks for allowing me to be a part of your secret world. =)
To Tracy Banghart who reads and listens and never gives up.
To Emily Liebert for believing in me. Thanks for the check-ins. They mean more than I could ever say.
A gigantic THANK YOU to my family. Thanks for talking about characters who exist in my imagination and believing, as much as I do, that they can fly.
Thank you to my mom. I will always be grateful for your strength and your love. Thanks for always being my biggest fan.
My cheering section is much louder with you on board, Lynne and Mike Novenstein, and I can’t thank you enough for that.
To Michelle, thanks for traveling to Kensington Gardens with me and waiting while I stared in wonder at the one character that has stayed with me the longest. We need more adventures like that one. =)
And the biggest thank you goes to my amazing husband, Jason. Even though we still fight about the ending, words can not express how much it means to me that you care enough to shake your head and storm off. =) Love you bunches and punches.