Forever With You (Silver State Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

an accent.
    “We’re about finished, why don’t we get out of your way?” says a middle aged woman with short brown hair.  She stands behind Beatrix and places her hands on her shoulders.  “I’m Jillian by the way – I’m Bea’s mother.”  She exchanges pleasantries with my parents and with Blake and Rhiannon, who also introduce themselves to Harumi’s mom and Beatrix’s stepdad.  The younger girl is introduced as Kimi, Harumi’s nine year old sister.
    The ensuing couple of hours are a flurry of unloading and unpacking.  By the time we finish it’s close to four, and I’m utterly exhausted.  Beatrix and Harumi have both left with their families, and my freshly made bed looks very inviting.
    I yawn my way through dinner at a Thai restaurant on the edge of campus with my family.  Taking the hint, Rhiannon insists afterward they all move along and grant me my space.  Mom gives me a tearful hug, while Dad is all business, instructing me to call about anything I might have forgotten.  Rhiannon squeezes me and reminds me she’s less than an hour away, and Blake claps me on the back and wishes me luck.  When the door finally closes behind them I breathe a sigh of relief tinged with a unique brand of loneliness.

Chapter 4 – Mixer
    Wednesday, August 16
     
    Kyle – 3:15 PM
    “ B ad news, man…We can repair it, but by the time I order the parts it’ll run you about as much as just buying a new lens.”  Jay leans his considerable mass against the glass case at the back of Ball Photo Supply.  He’s a nice guy, just like everybody else who works here.  That’s why I come here – they excel at customer service, and they don’t try to bullshit me.  That’s why I trust what he’s telling me; unfortunately it doesn’t make it any easier to hear the truth.
    “Goddammit,” I mutter as I take my Canon telephoto from his big, meaty hand.  I scratch the side of my face as my eyes sweep across the array of lenses on display in the case behind us.  It will cost me well over seven hundred dollars to replace this particular lens, and I simply don’t have it.  I saved up for months to afford it in the first place.  Silently I curse my cat, Pumpkin, who got up on my bookcase and pawed at my camera bag until it finally crashed to the floor this morning.  I guess I’m fortunate this was the only thing that broke.  Still makes me want to think about finding another home for the damn cat, though…
    I’m still pondering the extent of my plight when the bell above the door jingles.  I turn and see Grace Mullins pushing her sunglasses on top of her head as she strides to the back of the store.  She’s a year ahead of me in the journalism program, and I’ve heard she was recently picked to be one of the section editors for Summit , the student-run magazine I freelance for.  We had hit it off at a holiday social last year and ended up sleeping together twice before things turned south… Let’s just say she was interested in more than I was prepared to give.  I somehow managed to successfully dodge her for most of last semester, but there’s no avoiding her now – she’s already spotted me.
    “Hey Kyle,” she says, sounding slightly out of breath.  I notice one of her pant legs is rolled up and remember she usually bikes everywhere.
    “Hi, Grace.”  I look back down, distracted and not really in the mood to chitchat.
    “What’ve you got there?” she asks, nodding to the lifeless lens in my left hand.
    “Fucked up lens,” I reply.  “Stupid cat knocked it off my shelf.”
    She sucks in a breath, nodding in commiseration.  “That’s some tough luck.”
    “It sure is.”  I sigh, then shake my head to clear it as I stuff the lens back in my shoulder bag.  “Well…if you know anybody who needs a good paperweight, let me know.  That’s about all this thing is good for now.”
    She smiles and nods.  “Sorry for your loss.”  She reaches up and awkwardly touches my arm, as if