Free 44 by Jools Sinclair Page A

right. It just takes time. You’ll have it
all back soon.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “For the first time in a while, I
believe that.”
    “You should go ahead and apply to a few colleges.
Write an essay about your death experience, they’ll love that. You
might be ready by September.”
    I smiled. College. I hadn’t even thought about that.
That still seemed a ways off, being that I hadn’t even passed my
last algebra test.
    “Well, one step at a time,” I said.
    “Right,” he said. “Seriously, that’s great.”
    “Let’s do something this weekend,” I said. Even with
the new knowledge about Amanda, it was an old habit, hanging out
with Jesse, and one I didn’t want to give up. I bit my bottom lip.
Damn.
    “Name it, I’m there,” he said.
    “Well, only if you have time. I mean, if you have
plans with other people, that’s okay. I’m totally cool with
that.”
    I said it even though I really didn’t feel it
inside. It was good to have the memory back about Amanda and Jesse,
but I couldn’t stop these feelings I had for him. They were
swelling up in me like a river after a storm.
    “Gotta be at night because I’ve got some serious
burger serving to do up at the mountain all day Saturday and
Sunday, plus I’ll need time for my free runs. Hey, you should come
up! The mountain misses you!”
    “It’s doing fine without me,” I said.
    “I’m off by 3. I could sneak you on the lift. Why
don’t you meet me?”
    “Not yet,” I said. I wasn’t ready to go up to the
mountain. I missed snowboarding, but I didn’t have my balance back
yet. And the last thing I wanted to do was watch a bunch of people
doing something I loved so much.
    “How about a movie or something? When you get
back.”
    “Sure,” he said. “Or even cosmic bowling and the
arcade if nothing good is playing. Just let me know.”
    We pulled up to his house. It was nice to think
about fun things for a change and not about lakes and visions and
fires and killers.
    “So you actually like serving up burgers to a bunch
of snow monkeys?”
    “It’s not so bad. They’re mostly friendly. Hey, good
work today on your memory recovery,” Jesse said, giving me a high
five. “And thanks for the ride. See you at school tomorrow.”
    “Glad to hear you say that,” I said. “You know, the
part about you being at school and all.”
    “Yes, mom,” he said opening the car door. But then
he stopped.
    Jesse’s dad stood in the doorway, watching us. It
was strange that he was home. He was usually working at his garage
from morning until night. He just stood there, staring, until I
waved and then he headed over to the car.
    “Ah, jeez, now you’ve done it. He’ll talk your ear
off and you’ll never get home,” he said.
    “I haven’t seen him in forever.”
    “I know,” Jesse said, watching his dad lumber down
the front steps slowly. As always, he looked like he had just
stepped off a concert tour with ZZ Top, with his flowing hair and
long, gray beard that hung down his chest. But he looked older than
the last time I’d seen him.
    “Things have been kind of rocky between us,” Jesse
said. “We fight all the time. About my car. He refuses to fix it!
He’s still angry and that makes me angry. That’s why I got the job.
I need money for a new car. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, I
wish he would just let it go and fix it for me.”
    Jesse waved at his dad, but he ignored him and
walked over to my side of the Jeep. I unrolled the window. I hadn’t
seen him since he had stopped by with flowers when I got home from
the hospital.
    “Hey, Abby. How are you?” he said, giving me a pat
on the shoulder.
    “Fine, Mr. Stone,” I said. “It’s so good to see you.
How are you?”
    It really was great to see him. He had gotten thin,
but he still radiated that familiar warmth that reminded me of
summer and I realized how much I had missed him. As he talked about
the weather and the snow, other memories flooded back, like the
time