The Light of Asteria Read Online Free PDF

other
side of the counter.
    “What are your interests, Nora?”
    Gavin seemed fascinated by everything from
the farm to my education, and so we continued to talk about the
trivial aspects of my life. He laughed as I recounted my excursion
into the area of middle school rock bands and Edna’s reaction to
Kate and Holly’s electric guitars screaming off her ridge. I found
that, as long as I didn’t meet his gaze for too long, talking with
him came extremely easy. If he did fall for Holly, like every other
man on the face of the planet, at least we could be friends.
    “Do you have a big family?” Gavin’s genuine
interest in my ordinary life lowered my defenses. The rush of a
different need filled me like never before. I sighed and spoke from
the heart.
    “No. I have only one person in my family, and
she’s my foster mom. My mother died bringing me into this world. My father was in the military and deployed when
mom was just three months pregnant. He came back from his tour of
duty for her funeral. I think the combination of the stress of war
and losing the love of his life was simply too much for him. He
turned to drugs and alcohol, but that didn’t help.” I became lost
in the past; images of my eighth birthday swirled in my
mind.
    “My strongest memory of my
father was his hand holding mine while we walked up Edna’s drive.
He’d parked in a public lot close to her home. We were going to
visit an old friend of the family, he said. They sipped tea on the
front porch while I played with Sudsy, her golden retriever. He
didn’t know it, but I could hear him whispering about how he really
couldn’t take care of me. He stood up, walked off the porch, and
patted my head. ‘I need some cigs … I’ll be back’ was all he said.
I watched him walk out of my life forever that day…”
    I gasped for air, forcing
myself to stop. I had never, ever told anyone this story. Edna had
lived that horrible day with me, but we never spoke of it. I
twisted the useless paper towel into a torn mess, desperately
trying to find a way to make this seem as if it was no big deal …
like I told this story to anyone who happened by.
    Beautiful emotions that
were like a large creature enfolded me in their compassionate
embrace. Sheer understanding, acceptance, and pain for me was so
overwhelming, tears finally spilled over. A warm glow that had
started in my chest with the creature’s first caress intensified. I
could feel the strength of it growing, and instinctively, I knew
that confessing this to Gavin was healing me in a way I never
thought possible. I defenselessly peered into his green eyes,
allowing their softness to flow over me. His eyes were brimming
with tears as well, and it didn’t seem to bother him in the
least.
    “I am honored you chose to
share your memories of your family with me. I will not betray your
trust.” He took my hand in his. “Did you ever find your
father and confront him?”
    “I’ve always believed that you must be able
to appreciate the things that people can give you, and forgive them
for the things they can’t. My father gave me life, and he gave me
up. Both of these I’m grateful for. Love, security, and a real
dad—these are the things he was incapable of giving, or being for
that matter. Even at such a young age, I understood something was
taken from him that he simply couldn’t live without. He died a few
years ago from sclerosis of the liver. I read it in the paper.” He stroked the top of my hand with his smooth
fingertips. I tried not to think about how
much that whisper soft pattern was driving me crazy.
    “Can I take you to
dinner?”
    The clang of the cowbell interrupted us, and
I jumped, pulling my hand away.
    “How are things going, Noh?” Mr. Vernor asked
absentmindedly.
    “Great. I just made a sale.” I grinned; it
had only taken four hours.
    He stopped when he saw I wasn’t alone, his
expression surprised.
    “Joe Vernor, this is Gavin Frey. He goes to
school with Holly