into its second hour, a strange thing begins to happen: Frankie and Katelyn seem to be moving closer and closer to each other, occasionally whispering into each other’s ears.
“Hey, look,” Logan says, pointing to his left. I follow his gaze to Katelyn’s right hand, which is intertwined with Frankie’s left hand. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Logan whispers to me.
By the time the show ends with an encore and a rousing performance of “Lay One on Me,” one of Original Scin’s most popular songs, Katelyn is no longer looking at the stage. She’s looking at Frankie. And just as the house lights go down to end the show, I see Frankie lean in and give Katelyn a quick kiss on the lips.
“Woooo!” Logan says, grinning as he nudges Katelyn. “I knew it! I knew you two loooooved each other!”
“Whatever,” Frankie says gruffly. As the lights come back on and people begin to filter out of the arena, I can see that his face has turned beet red. He stares at the floor.
“So what?” Katelyn asks after a moment without looking at anyone. “So what if I love him?”
“You do?” Frankie asks, his head jerking up.
Katelyn shrugs. “Maybe. Is that okay?”
“It’s very okay,” Frankie says. He hesitates and leans forward to kiss her again. This time, she kisses him back.
“Okay, you two, let’s keep this PG,” I say, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “We still have a few hours ahead of us with this limo rental. What do you say we get out of here?”
Frankie grabs Katelyn’s hand as we head for the exit, and after a moment, Logan slips his hand into mine too.
“I’m glad we’re all here together, Jill,” Logan says.
“Me too, Logan. Me too.”
W E GRAB A late dinner at a Cuban restaurant called Mateo in downtown Miami, near the arena, and then we ask the driver to take us back to the beach after Katelyn says she wants to fall asleep tonight to the sound of the crashing surf. We stop for beach blankets on the way, and then we head to the front desk of the Fontainebleau, where we check into a room, which allows us access to their pool and beach areas. We make our way out to the sand just past midnight and drag four lounge chairs into a row, facing the ocean. The moon hangs over the water, bathing the beach in pale light.
“This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” Katelyn murmurs. She hasn’t let go of Frankie’s hand since we arrived.
Eventually, the two of them scoot their chairs away from us, and they lean close to each other, whispering and giggling. It reminds me that love can surprise us with the things we least expect. Katelyn thought she was going to have the experience of a lifetime with her favorite band tonight; instead, she discovered that the things she’d been looking for were right in front of her all along.
“How long until the day resets?” I ask Logan as we stare up at starry sky.
“We think it’s sometime between one and two in the morning,” Logan says. “We’ve all tried to stay up, but the latest we’ve made it is about one fifteen.”
“Because you’ve been overtired?”
“No. Definitely not. We drank tons of coffee and promised each other we’d sit there and talk to keep each other awake. I think it has something to do with the tree. It can’t reset the day if you don’t go to sleep. I think it’s part of the magic.”
“Well, let’s keep talking tonight until the day ends.”
“You know,” Logan says after a minute, “I was going to remind you earlier that big, expensive trips aren’t what this tree thing is all about. But that’s not what today was, was it?”
I smile. “No.”
“It was about making Frankie and Katelyn happy,” Logan says.
I nod. “I didn’t think it would hurt if we all had a little fun in the process.”
“You’re a really great person, Jill,” Logan says.
“You are too, kiddo.” I pause. “You asked me earlier what I really want. How about you? What would your Make-A-Wish wish be?”
He
“Hey, look,” Logan says, pointing to his left. I follow his gaze to Katelyn’s right hand, which is intertwined with Frankie’s left hand. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Logan whispers to me.
By the time the show ends with an encore and a rousing performance of “Lay One on Me,” one of Original Scin’s most popular songs, Katelyn is no longer looking at the stage. She’s looking at Frankie. And just as the house lights go down to end the show, I see Frankie lean in and give Katelyn a quick kiss on the lips.
“Woooo!” Logan says, grinning as he nudges Katelyn. “I knew it! I knew you two loooooved each other!”
“Whatever,” Frankie says gruffly. As the lights come back on and people begin to filter out of the arena, I can see that his face has turned beet red. He stares at the floor.
“So what?” Katelyn asks after a moment without looking at anyone. “So what if I love him?”
“You do?” Frankie asks, his head jerking up.
Katelyn shrugs. “Maybe. Is that okay?”
“It’s very okay,” Frankie says. He hesitates and leans forward to kiss her again. This time, she kisses him back.
“Okay, you two, let’s keep this PG,” I say, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “We still have a few hours ahead of us with this limo rental. What do you say we get out of here?”
Frankie grabs Katelyn’s hand as we head for the exit, and after a moment, Logan slips his hand into mine too.
“I’m glad we’re all here together, Jill,” Logan says.
“Me too, Logan. Me too.”
W E GRAB A late dinner at a Cuban restaurant called Mateo in downtown Miami, near the arena, and then we ask the driver to take us back to the beach after Katelyn says she wants to fall asleep tonight to the sound of the crashing surf. We stop for beach blankets on the way, and then we head to the front desk of the Fontainebleau, where we check into a room, which allows us access to their pool and beach areas. We make our way out to the sand just past midnight and drag four lounge chairs into a row, facing the ocean. The moon hangs over the water, bathing the beach in pale light.
“This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” Katelyn murmurs. She hasn’t let go of Frankie’s hand since we arrived.
Eventually, the two of them scoot their chairs away from us, and they lean close to each other, whispering and giggling. It reminds me that love can surprise us with the things we least expect. Katelyn thought she was going to have the experience of a lifetime with her favorite band tonight; instead, she discovered that the things she’d been looking for were right in front of her all along.
“How long until the day resets?” I ask Logan as we stare up at starry sky.
“We think it’s sometime between one and two in the morning,” Logan says. “We’ve all tried to stay up, but the latest we’ve made it is about one fifteen.”
“Because you’ve been overtired?”
“No. Definitely not. We drank tons of coffee and promised each other we’d sit there and talk to keep each other awake. I think it has something to do with the tree. It can’t reset the day if you don’t go to sleep. I think it’s part of the magic.”
“Well, let’s keep talking tonight until the day ends.”
“You know,” Logan says after a minute, “I was going to remind you earlier that big, expensive trips aren’t what this tree thing is all about. But that’s not what today was, was it?”
I smile. “No.”
“It was about making Frankie and Katelyn happy,” Logan says.
I nod. “I didn’t think it would hurt if we all had a little fun in the process.”
“You’re a really great person, Jill,” Logan says.
“You are too, kiddo.” I pause. “You asked me earlier what I really want. How about you? What would your Make-A-Wish wish be?”
He
Similar Books
