Happily and Madly
Page 27
“I hope not,” I say and I watch his smile appear and fade. He observes my face, too, the flux of joy, the grief we both share, the confusion over how to move forward. What to do next. We’ll have to keep the wrongness of our first kisses, all our kisses that summer; the lying and the secrets; losing Sepp. But we’ll get to keep the night on the boat, the relief of not feeling alone; the joy we felt that night under the stars, swimming at the peninsula.
The last person to see the fortune-teller before I was busted for being in the bathroom was a middle-aged woman with short brown hair and kind eyes. When she saw me crouched on the floor when she opened the bathroom door, she said, “Oh, my goodness.” But before that, she was asking the fortune-teller if there was a secret to life. “There are many secrets to life,” the fortune-teller said. “But here is the most important one: nothing will be how you thought. This is a very good thing. It means there will be lots of surprises.” The woman wanted to know if all surprises were good, and the fortune-teller said, “No, of course not, but that is life, and we have to take it all—all of the good with all of the bad.”
Edison and I talk until the sun comes up. We get out of the car to say goodbye. We listen to the birds and let the morning sunlight warm our faces. We haven’t made any plans for what’s next. But I think of the very first promise he made to me, when we were leaving the half-built house, the first time I kissed him. You’ll see me again, Maris.
We still don’t know what’s coming for us, tomorrow, next year, ten years from now. But he takes my hand and draws me close to him. I tilt my head up and he looks down at me, and we exchange giant smiles before our lips meet.
Right then, I wish for a fortune-teller. I understand the need to hear about the future, just to have something to defy.
Acknowledgments
Thank you:
Amy Stapp, my editor, for guidance in writing suspense, enthusiasm for this book, and for seeing its potential from the start. Melissa Frain, Lucille Rettino, Zohra Ashpari, Daniela Medina, and everyone at Tor Teen.
Suzie Townsend, my agent, for always having great insight, and for reading so many drafts of this book. Joanna Volpe, Pouya Shahbazian, Cassandra Baim, Mia Roman, Veronica Grijalva, and the entire team at New Leaf Literary.
Writer friends who read the very first draft and gave me impeccable notes (always!): Jeanmarie Anaya, Tanya Spencer, and Shelley Batt.
Virginia Boecker, Kim Liggett, and Kara Thomas for always getting it and never being more than a text message away. The Northern California writers; I feel so grateful to be close to such an amazing group. My favorite hags for their support and friendship and laughter.
And to my family and friends: my parents, Karisa, Rowdy, Tom and Sheri, Sarah and Lucas. Lea, for visiting when I was in the revision dungeon and making me dinner, and for obsessing with me about WWII and the Winnie the Pooh movies (that somehow were about WWII also). Brittany, for the perfect advice. Kelsey, for the hours you spent reading and painting next to me while I worked on this book in Pittsburgh and Versailles. Shaun, for being a bright light in our lives; we’ll always miss you. Justin, for brainstorming with me, for never-ending encouragement, and for our version of what it means to be happily and madly.
About the Author
ALEXIS BASS grew up in eastern Washington, went to college in Arizona, and spent her early twenties in Seattle. She currently lives in Northern California with her husband and their dog. Her other novels for young adults include Love and Other Theories and What’s Broken Between Us. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HAPPILY AND MADLY
Copyright © 2019 by Alexis Bass
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Daniela Medina
Cover photographs: girl © Arcangel Images; ocean © Shutterstock.com; torn paper © Shutterstock.com
A Tor Teen Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-19591-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-19592-0 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250195920
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: May 2019