by Marie Landry
I felt restless, and even though things with Ella continued to improve, I still found myself lonely from time to time, especially at night. I kept myself busy volunteering at the library, working on the blog, and looking up job opportunities in Toronto for when we returned home.
I was still amazed at how many hits my blog posts were getting. Shelley told me the overall site hits had doubled since I started posting reviews and recommendations. With everything that had happened in my life over the last year, I felt inspired to branch out a bit, and I wrote a post that ended up being my most popular ever.
Why I Read and Why You Should Too
by Charlotte O’Dell
It occurred to me recently that books are one of the only constants in life. They’re there for you no matter what. If the rest of the world walks out on you, there are always fictional characters to walk in and make you laugh, make you cry, make you think, and make you feel. There’s a whole world of fictional characters waiting to be your friend. Their world becomes your world, their problems and triumphs become yours, and for a little while you can forget about your own worries. It’s a pretty magical thing.
Books may be fictional stories, but to readers, the tales truly come to life. They cover topics from birth to death and everything in between—friendship, love, family, the good, the bad, the mundane, the thrilling—all of it between the pages of a book that can come to mean the world to you. Fictional characters suddenly become three-dimensional people you can relate to. There are lessons to be learned and adventures to be had, hearts to be won or broken, and new lands to be discovered, whether it’s in your own backyard, halfway across the world, or a place born of someone else’s imagination.
So when people ask me why I read, my response is: ‘Why don’t you?’ It’s an escape, sure, but it’s so much more than that. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, a book will change you. It will make you look at the world a little differently, hold your loved ones a little closer, and realize that when love is standing in front of you and staring you in the face, you have to grab it with both hands and hold on tight. And sometimes if you’re really lucky, you’ll learn that in life, as in books, that love comes in many forms—the boy next door, the sister, the parent, the newfound friend you weren’t expecting.
So go pick up a book. Immerse yourself in someone else’s world. Strike up a conversation with a bookworm. You never know when your new best friend—whether fictional or real—is waiting right around the corner.
After hitting Publish, I sat back with a satisfied sigh. The front door slammed from downstairs, and I didn’t even jump. I was making progress. Quick footsteps moved through the house, stopping at the foot of the stairs.
“Charlotte, are you up there?” Ella called.
Instead of yelling back, I left my room and peered down at her from the top of the steps.
“Oh, good.” Ella smiled up at me, and the sight of it made my lips curve in response. “Wanna come hang out with me on the beach?”
Moments like this still made me wonder if I was dreaming. A couple weeks ago I would have thought my sister was playing a cruel joke on me, but now…now things like this made me feel like the cracks in our relationship—and in my heart—were healing.
“I’ll meet you out there in a sec,” I told her. She nodded and headed for the glass doors, her flip flops slapping loudly against the floor.
I went to my room to grab my own sandals, and as I was searching for my sunglasses, I heard voices outside. Miranda and Kennedy were trailing along up the beach, and when they saw Ella near the water, they joined her. It was a strange but wonderful sight.
Sticking my sunglasses on my head, I hurried downstairs and through the back door, joining my sister and my friends in the warm sand.
*****
One night while I was preparing dinner, Dad wandered into the kitchen and sat at the table to watch me. He looked distracted, but he had this weird smile on his face, like he had a secret.
When we all sat down to dinner, I finally caved. “What’s up, Dad?”
“Hmm? Oh.” He looked up from his spaghetti and took a sip of water. “I have something I need to tell you girls, but I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it.”
Oh god. Was he off his meds already? Did his therapist want him to check himself into a place like Ezra’s mom? “What is it?” I asked warily, casting a furtive glance at Ella, whose eyebrows were pinched together.
“About a week ago I was approached by someone at Queen’s University,” he said, twirling pasta around his fork, then letting it slide back to the plate. “They read one of my papers and liked the research I had done. They…they want me to be a professor there.”
“What?” Ella and I asked in unison.
Dad nodded vigorously. “They said they’d make it worth my while. They’d pay me more, and they’d set us up with housing near campus. But…but I can’t do it.”
“Why not?” I asked.
Dad threw up his hands like it should be obvious. “Our lives are in Toronto. I can’t ask Gabriella to leave high school before her senior year. And you, Charlotte, you’ve been looking for a job and you were planning to go to school in the city this winter. Plus…Mom’s there.”
I shook my head. “Mom’s not there,” I said quietly. “Our memories of Mom are there. She’ll be with us whether we live in Toronto, Kingston, or halfway across the world.”
Dad looked at me like he was seeing me—really seeing me—for the first time. Maybe he was, in a way. He bobbed his head thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right. But, still…I just don’t see how it could work.”
“I do,” Ella piped up. Her voice was small, and she sank down slightly in her chair when we both looked at her. “I’ve actually been thinking how nice it would be to start over,” she said, staring at her plate. “All the kids at school know me as…well, as someone I don’t want to be anymore. The kids here have accepted me for me, whether that was the me I was two weeks ago, or the me I am now.” She paused and tilted her head as if she wasn’t quite sure she was making sense. “Anyway, I’m sure Kingston has good schools. Or, you know, I’ve heard great things about the Angel Island school…”
“Angel Island?” Dad asked. “You mean…stay here?”
“Why not?” Ella’s gaze slid to me, and I felt a surge of hope rise in my chest, but I tamped it down quickly.
“What do you think?” Dad asked me.
“What do you think?” I countered. “Be honest.”
“I think…I think it would be a great opportunity for me,” Dad said slowly. “I feel like work and you girls are what’s keeping me sane. I know that the medication and the therapy sessions will make me better and help me deal with my issues, but when I’m working, when I’m really immersed in it, I feel almost normal. I…I hate the idea of going back to Toronto.” He said it like it was a confession, something he was ashamed of. “I hate the idea of being back in that house, in that city, where absolutely everything reminds me of her.”
I hated the idea, too. I had ever since Ezra and I went to my house after the break-in.
“I’d do it for you two,” Dad said quickly, mistaking my silence for something else. “After what I’ve put you through this summer, I’d do anything for you two.”
“Say something,” Ella hissed at me.
I swallowed hard. “I c-could go to St. Lawrence or Queens,” I stammered. “Find a job here or in Kingston.”
Dad stared at me with wide eyes. “You mean…”
“I want to stay here though.” My voice was firm even though I was shaking inside. “I want us to rent or buy the cottage from Lilah. She told me hardly anyone rents it anymore. I’m sure she’d be happy if we stayed here. I’d be happy if we stayed here.” I glanced at Ella. “And I’m pretty sure Gabriella would be happy, too.”
“Ella,” she whispered. That one word was almost my undoing. I just about lost it right there at the table. “I’d be happy to stay,” she confirmed, her eyes never leaving mine.
I gave her a watery smile. “So…Dad?” I turned to him. “It’s up to you. We’ll back you up no matter what you want to do.”
Dad closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “I’ll need to go home and talk to a realtor,” he muttered, more to himself than to us. “I’ll have to put the house up for sale, and we’ll have to pack, and I’ll have to tell the university, and—”
“So that’s a yes?” Ella interrupted. “We’ll stay here?”
Dad’s eyes popped open. They looked a little wild, and he let out a short, manic laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I’ll have to figure it all out, but…I think a fresh start is what we need.”
We carried on with dinner, and Dad continued muttering to himself. Ella sniffed the air and looked at me, her eyes questioning. “Do you smell lilacs?” she whispered.
I inhaled deeply. If Ella could smell it too, it wasn’t just my imagination. I didn’t know what to think about it, but I wanted to think it was somehow Mom’s way of telling us she was pleased with our decision…pleased with us.
*****
Three days later Ezra called to tell me he was coming home later that day. That night was the concert in the park that Miranda and Kennedy had invited me to at the beginning of summer. I told Ezra I would skip it, but he insisted we go, and said he’d find me there when he got back to the island.
I invited Ella to come along, and she accepted. Miranda and Kennedy came to our house, and the four of us got ready together. I hadn’t been this comfortable around a group of girls since my days with Alexis and Bianca. I still had moments where my mind would wander, or I’d miss my mom like crazy, or that hollow ache would return to my chest, but I knew Mom would want me to move on and live my life.
Miranda drove us across the island to the park, and we found a spot to spread out a blanket and sit. While Ella and Kennedy went in search of drinks, Miranda stretched out next to me.
“I’m kinda sad we didn’t get to know each other better,” she said. “I love Kennedy to death, but it’s hard to have an intelligent conversation with her sometimes, you know?” She smiled affectionately as she said it, and I understood what she meant—I’d felt that way sometimes with Alexis and Bianca. “I think you and I could’ve been real good friends.”
“We still could,” I told her. Ella and I had decided not to tell anyone we were staying until it was a done deal. Dad had already talked to Lilah about us staying in the beach house, and she was thrilled, but Dad still had some logistics to work out. Despite that, I was planning to tell Ezra later tonight. It had been torture keeping it from him over the last few days.
Miranda cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged and smiled mysteriously. “I’m not that easy to get rid of, that’s all.”
Ella and Kennedy returned with icy cans of pop, and the four of us talked and laughed while we waited for the bands to start playing.
Almost the minute the sun went down, the first band took the stage. They were really good, kind of a mixture of pop and rock, and apparently they had written all their own songs. Everyone around us got to their feet and started dancing, and that’s what I was doing when strong arms wrapped around me from behind and began swaying with me in time to the music.
“Ezra!” I whirled around and threw my arms around his neck, clutching him tightly. It had only been two and a half weeks since we’d seen each other, but it felt like so much longer. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“How’s your mom?” Ella asked. She looked almost shy as she shuffled from foot to foot.
“She’s doing better, thanks.” Ezra smiled warmly at her. God, this boy was amazing. “She still has a long way to go, but she’s not fighting it anymore.” Every day when we talked, Ezra gave me a progress report, telling me about his mom opening up to the doctors, and talking more to him. The doctors were pleased, and said she could start getting involved in some of the facility’s activities soon. Ezra suggested she try music therapy or perhaps painting.
“I’m glad,” Ella said. “I hope she gets better quickly and can come back home.” She gave him another shy smile and turned to Kennedy, who was tugging on her arm and saying something.
“Wow,” Ezra said quietly, taking both my hands in his. “Quite the change there.”
“Mm-hmm. The new and improved Ella O’Dell.” I smiled up at him, and his eyes softened as they roamed over my face before meeting my gaze. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” he said. “I’m trying really hard not to panic that we have less than a week left before you go back home.”
I bit my lip and nodded my head. This wasn’t the time or place to tell him. “Will you take me home?”
“What about the concert?”
“There will be other concerts. I want to spend time with you where I don’t have to yell to be heard.” He nodded and I got Ella’s attention, asking her if she minded if Ezra and I took off. She looked at me knowingly and assured me she’d get a ride home with Miranda and Kennedy.
“Good luck,” she whispered in my ear, giving me a quick one-armed hug.
“Figures that the evil Gabriella disappears when I leave town, and I won’t really have time to get to know this Ella,” Ezra said when we got to his car.
I simply smiled and climbed into the passenger seat. The ride home seemed to take ages, and I sighed with relief when we finally pulled into his driveway.
“You seem really antsy,” Ezra commented.
“I guess I kind of am.” Before he could respond, I got out of the car and motioned for him to follow me down to the beach. I kicked off my sandals and held out my hand. When he took it, we waded together into the water, stopping when we were knee-deep.
“Ella’s been helping me with my water fears,” I told him. “But I’d never have had the courage to even get in if it weren’t for you.”
“You would have found the courage on your own eventually,” he said confidently, gripping my hips lightly.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. You’ve helped me with so many things this summer, though.”
“Oh god,” Ezra said, eyes wide. “If this is a break-up speech, stop right there. I know you have to leave next week, but I told you we’d find a way. I’m not letting you—”
I put a finger on his lips to shut him up. “This isn’t a break-up speech.”
He grabbed my finger and held onto my hand. “Then why are you so antsy?”
“Because I have big news,” I told him. “Big, life-changing news.”
He cocked his head and stared at me expectantly.
“How would you feel about me sticking around a little longer?” I asked.
“How much longer?” he asked slowly.
“Oh, you know…” I shrugged again and met his blue-green gaze. “Forever-ish.”
“I don’t get it.” His tone was barely controlled, like maybe he did get it but he was afraid he might be wrong, so he didn’t want to get prematurely excited.
“We decided we’re going to move here permanently,” I told him, and now I was the one trying desperately to control my tone. “Dad’s going to work for Queen’s, Ella’s going to attend the Angel Island School, and Lilah’s going to help me find a job until I make up my mind about school.”
He blinked incredulously. “You’re…staying? You’re staying here?”
“Yes. I’ll have to leave a couple times to help Dad pack up the house and stuff, but we’re staying. All three of us realized there’s nothing left for us in Toronto. When you and I went there last month, it didn’t feel like home anymore. This place feels like home. You feel like home.” I paused and took a deep breath. “How do you feel about that?”
“How do I feel about that?” He laughed, throwing back his head. “Are you kidding? It’s the best damn news I’ve heard in weeks.” His hand hit the water in his excitement, splashing us both. He lifted me up and spun me around, kissing me hard on the lips. When he released me, he was grinning like an idiot. “Nobody wants to
lose their sidekick,” he told me.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your sidekick? Is that all I am?”
“No.” He shook his head, suddenly serious, and set me down, his hands gripping my waist. “You know how when we first met and we decided to give this thing between us a try? And we decided no labels?” I nodded. “Well, I think it’s time for a label.”
“Something more than ‘sidekick’?”
He chuckled quietly. “Yeah, something more than sidekick. Maybe…girlfriend? I’ve been thinking of you that way for a long time now, but I didn’t want to say it out loud because I was afraid you’d move back to Toronto and everything would change, despite what we said about making it work.”
I was smiling so hard my face hurt. “I’d love to be your girlfriend,” I told him. “And I like the idea of calling you my boyfriend. Introducing you to people that way. ‘Hey, this is my boyfriend Ezra, isn’t he cute?’”
He laughed and shook his head. When his lips returned to mine, they were warm and sweet and tender and everything a kiss should be.
“I have another label for us,” I told him a bit breathlessly.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Happy.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners as his smile overtook his whole face and turned my insides to jelly. “I like that one even better,” he said quietly, touching his forehead to mine.
We stood like that for a few minutes before I began to back deeper into the water. I stopped when the water touched the hem of my shorts at mid-thigh.
“Watch out, the fish will get you,” Ezra teased, wading out to meet me. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me again so our bodies were pressed together. I clutched his shoulders, hugging him tightly, feeling safe and loved.
“I’m not scared,” I whispered.
Not scared. Just happy.
Dear reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read WAITING FOR THE STORM. It means the world to me to know there are people out there reading—and hopefully enjoying—my books. If you enjoyed Charlotte and Ezra’s story, I’d love to hear from you. You can find all my contact information on my blog, and I’m available through most social media networks—Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and YouTube, just to name a few.