Before Ever After Read Online Free PDF Page A

Then she took a long sip and braced herself for the rest of his story. “Please continue.”
    Paolo stared into his tea. “Seeing the truth was like losing Nonno all over again, but I still couldn’t accept what was now in front of me. That is, until Bradford Jensen’s book found its way to the publishing company I work for. The concept of his book seemed promising. I looked through the photographs and was instantly drawn into his story.” He glanced up at her. “And then I saw you …”
    “And Max.” Shelley clutched her chipped floral teacup.
    “There was no denying what I saw this time,” Paolo said. “I called your friend and asked him about the pictures.”
    “You decided to find me …”
    “Yes.”
    Shelley drained her tea. She began to accept what she needed to do, defying the million reasons why she shouldn’t. She and Paolo needed answers and they were not going to find them in her kitchen.
    A FLIGHT TO THE PHILIPPINES
    Now
    F ish!”
    Shelley and Paolo’s chorus jostled the flight attendant’s practiced smile. It wobbled momentarily, teetering between annoyance and disdain. Then the woman blinked and plastered it back. She handed them their choice of steamed sea bass fillet, leaving the offensive roasted chicken breast and potatoes on her dinner cart.
    Shelley inhaled the entire contents of her tray. The last of the adrenaline that had fueled her had been spent in the sprint to the airport. It was only now, as she was licking the remnants of tapioca pudding from her spoon, that she was beginning to comprehend how she had come to be strapped into a coach seat on a flight to the other side of the world.
    She had made the decision to fly to Boracay that evening with thesame blind haste she had on her first and last attempt at a do-it-yourself Brazilian bikini wax. If there was anything the home kit had taught her, it was that there were certain things in life that did not allow for even a half-breath’s hesitation. But unlike her inadvertent foray into masochism, no amount of anti-inflammatory cream could take away the realization stinging her now.
    Frantic scenes of herself mindlessly packing, jumping into twice-worn jeans, and stumbling out the door with Paolo replayed in Shelley’s head. It dawned on her that she was on the most important journey of her life with a backpack containing only her passport, Max’s plaid bathrobe, a pair of gym socks, and a container of dental floss. The last item was arguably packed more out of habit than haste, the legacy of her reminding Max to floss every single night for two years. She chewed on her plastic spoon. This was the last time, she swore, that she would pack without a list.
    “This is going to be a long flight,” Paolo said. “It’s a good thing that we have a lot to do to pass the time.”
    Shelley set the mangled utensil down and scanned through the in-flight movie selection. She had already seen most of the films. “Cards?”
    “That’s not what I meant. I’ve told you my story,” he said, “now it’s your turn.”
    “Well, you’ve pretty much got the gist of it already, right?” Shelley said. “Girl meets boy. Girl marries boy. Boy dies, but not really. Boy opens café on a tropical island. Girl searches for boy with boy’s grandson. Your standard love story, I would think.”
    “I’m serious, Shelley,” Paolo said. “We might be able to find some clues to this mystery if you could fill me in on a few more details of what you knew about Nonno.”
    The flight attendant drifted by with pots of coffee and tea. Shelley leaped at her chance for a reprieve. “Tea, please.”
    She stirred a packet of sugar into the steaming amber liquid. She took a sip and burned her tongue. Paolo was right. Finding Max without preparing herself would be scalding and beyond horrific. On the other hand, she had once read that you could boil a frog alive without any struggle if you raised the temperature in slight increments. Boil now or burn