Déjà Date Read Online Free PDF

wanted his ashes scattered in the Sierras?” I pointed to the envelope in her hand. “The letter’s still sealed.”
    “After talking with my therapist, I decided it was time for me to read his letter. I read it last night before I called you.” She fingered the envelope, then swiveled it around so the front faced me. “This envelope was inside the envelope for me. It’s addressed to you.”
    Chills vibrated through me. I stared at the hand-written script on the front of the envelope: For Melinda
    What the . . .?
    “That’s for me?” My eyes burned as I reached for the envelope, staring at the two words on the front, which were written in my dad’s familiar handwriting. Covering my mouth with my hand, I turned the envelope over and confirmed it was still sealed.
    She laid her hand over mine and squeezed. “If I’d known there was a letter inside for you then I would’ve opened mine right away. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
    I closed my eyes and nodded, knowing my mom would never have kept something like this from me if she’d known. A letter from my dad after all of these years. “I can’t believe he wrote me a letter,” I whispered.
    “There’s something else.” Her tone was ominous.
    My eyes popped open. “What?”
    She gnawed on her bottom lip for a long pause. “In his letter to me, your dad said not to give you the inheritance money until you finish his Carpe Diem list.”
    “His what ?” I gaped at the envelope as if it had suddenly grown fangs.
    “A list of ‘seize the day’ tasks that he wants you to complete in order to have a more fruitful life.” She took a quick sip of her coffee as if she needed to be recharged. “I don’t know what tasks he made for you, but he left a Carpe Diem list for me, as well.”
    My brows came together and I held up my palm. “Let me get this straight. When I turned eighteen, you told me I could have my inheritance money. Now, almost a decade later, you’re saying I can’t have the funds until I’ve completed Dad’s Carpe Diem list even though we don’t know what’s on it?”
    She raised her shoulders, and her mouth puckered. “Don’t be upset with me. It wasn’t my choice.”
    I waved the envelope in the air. “What if he wants me to see the Great Wall of China first? Or hike Mount Everest? We are talking about Dad here. I could lose the chance to buy Bernie’s Bakery!”
    Her penciled-brows drew together. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. But it’s his final wish. You know I can’t go against that, and I should hope you wouldn’t want me to.”
    “Well, that’s just great.” I stood, leaving my coffee virtually untouched. “I finally have a professional dream, and now it’s going to slip through my fingers because I can’t complete a list of tasks that I hadn’t known about until five minutes ago.”
    She rose to her feet, and stepped toward me. “Sweetheart, calm down. Open the envelope and see what’s on the list. Maybe they’re tasks you can do quickly.”
    “Oh, please.” I shoved the envelope in my purse, then crossed my arms over my chest. “Dad was the king of adventure. I’m sure his list includes something like an African safari. I’ll be eaten by a lion before I ever get the chance to buy the bakery—if it’s not sold and turned into a day spa by then.”
    My eyes burned. This was suddenly all too much. Bernie’s health problems. Nate’s return. Spreading my dad’s ashes. The inheritance money I hadn’t wanted and now wasn’t allowed to have. The letter from my dad to my mom. His letter to me . . . .
    I threw my hands in the air. “I have to go.”
    “Melinda, wait—”
    “I’ll talk to you later, Mom.” I turned and hurried down the hallway because I couldn’t take any more right now. I walked out the front door, then got into my car and started the engine. My mom had closed herself off from me after my dad had died and her prime concern had been painting a gazillion ceramic hot air balloons. That’s why