Come Back to Me (26 page)
Authors: Coleen Patrick
Stars are
born in wondrous clouds of gas and dust. They shine and they warm the planets
that are near them. Then the stars die, some by exploding, others by peeling away
their outer layers. When it dies, a star launches life-supporting elements
into space.
Katie was a
star in my life. I would feel her light with me always.
* * *
When I
pulled into the Spring Hill parking lot, I got a call from Evan.
“Hey,” he
said, his voice husky from a weekend singing with his band up in New York City.
I smiled
into my phone. “Hey yourself. Are you still stopping by on your way back to
school?”
“Do dog
parties rock?”
“Um, I don’t
know. I’ve never actually been to one. They sound kind of fun.”
“I’m sure Bug
thinks so.”
I looked
down at the small ball of mismatched fluff at my side in the car. Turned out Bug
was an amazing comfort dog. Spring Hill residents and my grandmother loved when
she visited. I patted her back. Bug sniffed and sighed. “Yeah, Bug agrees.”
“Of course
she does. Because I’ll definitely see you tonight,” he said, and my insides
turned warm. “I missed you this week.”
“Yeah, me,
too. I think you owe me a concert.”
Evan
laughed. “A personal concert? Can’t you hear my ragged, tired voice? You’re
lucky I’m in love with you.”
“Yeah. I
feel lucky,” I said, closing my eyes. I could hear him grinning, feel happy
dancing between us across the distance, through a glittering, landscape of
space and stars.
After I hung
up with Evan and went inside the retirement home, I wheeled my grandmother to the
garden room. Bug curled up in my grandmother’s lap, and I leaned back on a
cushioned bench, watching the sun stream through one of the stained glass
windows, casting yellows and blues at my feet.
I let my
head fall back, studying the translucent images of a white oak tree and a cardinal,
then I noticed something. I straightened, opening my eyes further as if to
check that it was real.
It was.
Nestled at
the base of the oak tree where the roots intertwined, was a very tiny stained
glass ladybug.
I thought
about that faraway day, the park, the tree, the congregation of ladybugs, but
most of all, I thought of Katie—her smile, the hope on her face when she said,
“Just wish and send her on her way.”
I smiled and
closed my eyes. My face angled up, instinctively searching for the warmth.
I made a
wish.
* * * *
Thank you to Lynnette of Labelle’s Editorial Services
for her insightful feedback, corrections, and patience, especially when it came
down to me defining “it.” Any mistakes that remain are ones I made after she
corrected them.
Tremendous thanks to Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations for
the beautiful cover.
Multiple thanks, and warm fuzzies to my online friends,
writers, and bloggers (with a special shout out to the WANA community). You
make me feel like writing is not a crazy profession.
Thank you to my first reader and personal cheerleader,
Emily. For you, I’d go to Abilene.
And to my parents and family, for always making me feel
like I can do anything.
Endless thanks and love to my husband and kids for
reading and listening while I read chapters aloud. You make it all possible.
And to G, I promised you years ago I would credit you with the title
suggestion, The Super Awesome (insert main character’s name here) Book. It’s
all yours.
Last but not least, to my brother, Dan the man. Thanks
for the ladybugs.
Coleen Patrick grew up in New Jersey, Virginia,
Michigan, Louisiana, and Indiana. Always being the new kid, she learned that
books and friends are precious—and dessert. She never met a dessert she didn’t
like (except for flan).
When she’s not writing, reading (or avoiding flan), she
enjoys TV, arts and crafts, quoting movies, and trying to take cool photos.
She lives in Virginia with her husband and two kids.