Not sure of the answer, I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen. Jayce and Bobby sat at the table already eating. Jayce and I made eye contact, and I suddenly became cognizant that I probably had bed-head and morning breath. “Coffee,” I said while trying to pat down my hair.
Mom handed me a cup. “How’d you sleep?” she asked. “Any headaches? We can take you to the ER if you need to get checked out.”
“I’m fine.” I gave her a quick hug. “I slept like a rock. And I didn’t dream at all.”
“Do you know that everyone dreams every night? Our minds never shut off,” Bobby said, taking a bite out of bacon.
I finished stirring creamer into my coffee and took the plate Mom handed me. “Thanks,” I said. “How’d we have eggs and bacon?”
“Because I forgot to pack up the food from the fridge and cupboards. Lucky for us.”
“Amen to that.” To Bobby, I added, “If I dreamt, I don’t remember it.”
He shrugged.
Mom sat down. “Look at us. Playing hooky on our first day of school.”
“I could get used to it,” Bobby said.
“I’m only missing one class,” Jayce said. “I’ll be back for my evening one.”
“I don’t even remember my schedule.”
“It’s not too late to go to U of M,” Mom said.
“Technically, it is. We’ve already paid Mid-Michigan. Besides, I want to be close to Jayce. I can always transfer after I’m done with my general credits.”
Jayce and I shared a smile.
Mom raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? You two seem to be sharing some secret. Fess up.”
Jayce looked down at his plate and kept eating. He probably was unsure of how much I wanted to share.
“Jayce and I have decided to be more than friends.”
He looked over at me and smiled. “I was hoping you hadn’t changed your mind.”
“It’s about time,” Mom said, sipping her coffee.
“You like my sister?” Bobby asked Jayce. “That’s so gross.”
“Hey!” I said, smacking him with my napkin.
“All right, all right,” Mom said. “Let’s get moving. Jayce and Bobby, take our stuff out to the car. Brooke and I will clean up breakfast and pack the few groceries we have left.”
“Leave my stuff,” I said. “I still have to get dressed.”
After Jayce and Bobby left the kitchen, Mom started washing the dishes. “The cooler’s right by the fridge. Let’s pack up all that stuff to take home.”
I started to pack, knowing it was only a matter of time before Mom started asking questions.
“So, you and Jayce?”
“You know I don’t like questions,” I teased.
“Ha, ha, I don’t care.”
“Yes,” I said simply. “Me and Jayce.”
“How’d you come to that decision?”
“Falling from the top deck of a yacht into cold water can make a person reevaluate some things.” I stopped packing and smiled over at her. “I’ve loved him for a long time. Just didn’t know it. Or didn’t want to admit it.”
“Well, he’s been over the moon for you since forever. Your Dad and I wondered how you never saw it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It wasn’t our place to tell.”
I finished the packing and closed the cooler. “All set.”
Mom took my hand. “Your Dad would be pleased,” she said with a small smile. “As am I. Now go get dressed, so we can get going.”
I passed Jayce in the hall. He grabbed me and gave me a quick kiss. “Good morning,” he said. “I didn’t want to do that in front of…”
“GROSS!” Bobby yelled. “Mom! Jayce just kissed Brooke.”
Jayce looked at Bobby. “Where’s the loyalty, man?”
“Excuse me while I go puke in the bathroom,” Bobby said under his breath, marching past us.
I drew Jayce to me and kissed him again. “Good morning to you too.”
“All right, you two,” Mom said from the end of the hall. “Let’s cool your jets. Brooke, we’re waiting for you.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, going to my bedroom. I shut the door and leaned against it, grinning from ear to ear.
I found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and stopped to look at my wrist. No Esmerelda bracelet. Okay, so it wasn’t all happiness and sunshine, but still, I refused to be down. All in all, I had been given a gift: another chance at life.
I took my Shakespeare book, still thrilled that it had been recovered, and placed it in the duffel bag. I no longer needed it with me. Not that I didn’t still miss Dad, but my heart was starting to feel whole again.
I paused, seeing something shiny underneath my Shakespeare book. Just underneath the book lay my Esmeralda bracelet. I dropped everything and grabbed it, making sure it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. “Are you serious?”
“Is everything all right?” Mom knocked on the door.
I didn’t answer. I was too busy opening up my laptop and starting it. While it thrummed to life, I threw on my clothes, combed my hair, and pulled it into a ponytail. I laughed aloud as I clasped the bracelet in place around my wrist.
It wasn’t a hallucination. It had really happened. I knew it!
I picked up the laptop, typed in my password, and immediately a Word document showed on the screen. Page 171 of Dad’s fifth book.
The laptop fell to the floor as I jumped up and started rejoicing.
Mom threw open the bedroom door, but her worried expression changed as I began laughing.
“It’s there, Mom! It’s all there!”
Jayce and Bobby came into the room. “What’s there?” Jayce asked.
“Dad’s fifth book. I’ve been drafting it, and I thought it had disappeared.”
“You’re writing the fifth book?” Mom asked. “Oh Brooke, that is incredible news. I had no idea!”
I laughed. I picked up the laptop and hugged it to my chest. How in the world it happened made no sense. But it felt right. The do-over happened. Somehow I lived and experienced this summer…twice. And my heart nearly burst with gratitude.
“You’re weird. Can we leave now?” Bobby shook his head and left me dancing in the room.
“You’ll have to tell us all about it in the car,” Mom said, catching my excitement. “And when we get home, the first thing I’m doing is calling up your Dad’s agent and telling him that the fifth book is being written. And then, I’m reading it.” She kissed my cheek. “Now let’s get out of here.”
She left Jayce standing in the room with me.
“It happened,” I told him. “It’s hard to explain, and even harder to believe, but it happened.”
“What you told me last night? Re-doing summer? But how? How can you be sure?”
I showed him the bracelet. “Well, for starters, this.”
He took my arm and ran his finger over it. “Where did you get this?”
“You.”
“How? Me?”
“You gave it to me for my birthday.” I flipped the stone and showed him the markings. “And the book I started writing is still saved on this laptop. I started writing it in the do-over.”
Jayce didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Say something. It’s not all in my head.”
“You’ve been given a gift, Brooke. The mysteries of the universe, and you somehow got to experience it.”
“I know.” I kissed his cheek. “I don’t have all the answers, but my heart is overflowing.”
He kissed my wrist, then kissed my lips. In pretend irritation, he said, “It’s a bummer that I can’t remember. It seems a shame that there’s this whole other summer that I was a part of, and yet, I have no recollection.”
“I’ll tell you all about it,” I said, as I zipped up the duffel bag. “Actually, maybe I’ll write about it. My Dad would say it’d make a great story.”
“It would make a great story. Think about it. How many other tim
e continuums are there? What other mysteries of the universe exist past our mortal realm?”
Jayce led me out of the room, but I paused to take one last look. Then I said a silent prayer of thanks.
The End
Acknowledgments
The first draft of Falling Too Deep was completed over ten years ago. This book went through numerous revisions, and at times, it gave me quite the headache! Different versions of this manuscript have been in the hands of three signed agents and numerous editors. For some reason or another, the manuscript would be rejected, and I would go back to the drawing board one more time. After my last agent let me go, I decided that the book may never see the light of day. But I believed in the story so much that I could never set it aside for long. I’m glad I picked it back up this last time.
To everyone who has read, critiqued, or encouraged the writing of this manuscript, thank you.
To my family for always being there for me and supporting my creative endeavors, thank you.
Last, but certainly not least, all glory belongs to you, Lord. I’m just along for the ride.
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