The Sequel Read Online Free PDF Page A

only the beginning of a very long week.
8
    For five days, he waits at the table in the children’s room, a stack of fairy tale books in front of him. He reads every collection, fairy tales from a dozen countries. He becomes an expert on witches and elves and princesses, evil spells, cauldrons of poisoned soups, power-mad queens, orphans lost in the forest, dragons and angels and talking owls. He spends the week in this terrifying otherworld, and the young woman doesn’t show up.
    Should he forget about her? Chalk the whole thing up to a crazy, weird experience? Buy a new laptop and get back to his life?
    He admits to himself that he really wants to see her. He wants to see her beautiful, almost perfect face and hear her whisper-smooth voice. Yes, he has sexual fantasies about her all the time. But he just wants to see the blue eyes, the red lips, the angel-white skin …
    When she shows up at his apartment on a Monday afternoon, he freezes at the door, tongue-tied. He can feel his cheeks go hot and knows he’s blushing.
    â€œYou’re here,” he utters redundantly.
    She laughs. “Can I come in?” He’s blocking the door.
    She slides into the apartment. She’s wearing layers of t-shirts, pale blue and pink, and a short, pleated plaid skirt. Her legs are bare down to her white sneakers.
    She brushes her dark hair back with a shake of her head. Then she hands him the laptop. “Did you miss me, honey?” She draws a finger down his cheek.
    â€œWell, yes. I waited for you. At the library. I mean—”
    She gazes around the living room, then dives to the baby in the porta-crib on the couch. “Ooh, she’s so cute.” She rubs Emily’s head tenderly. “And she’s so bald.”
    â€œShe had hair when she was born,” Zachary says. “But it fell out. Now she’s sprouting her real hair.” And then a question forces its way to his mind: “How did you know she’s a girl?”
    She gives the baby head a last rub, then turns to him. “Zachary, I know everything about you.” A strange smile, not warm, maybe ironic. “Today we’ll find out what you know about me .”
    He blinks. “Excuse me?”
    She points to the laptop. “I wrote the sequel for you, dear. I hope you like it.”
    He crosses the room to her. He has an impulse to toss down the laptop and throw his arms around her tiny waist. Instead, he squints at her. “You wrote the whole book in one week?”
    She giggles. “I’m very fast.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œAnd very good. It didn’t take long to pick up your style.” She pushes him to the couch. “Go ahead. Read it. I can’t wait. Read the first chapter. I want to see the look on your face.”
    He sits down beside the baby and opens the laptop on his lap. She gets down on her knees in front of the porta-crib and makes cooing sounds, petting the baby’s head as if she were a puppy.
    Zachary opens the file and starts to read. His mind whirs. He’s thinking of how he can tell her the work is not right, not acceptable, without making her angry and driving her away.
    He wants to kiss her. He wants to hold her. He’s aroused to the point of not being able to concentrate on the words. But he reads. Squinting into the glare of the screen, he reads the first chapter.
    When he finishes it, he taps the screen with his fingers. “This is good. This is really good.”
    She smiles. “I thought you’d approve.”
    â€œSeriously. It’s excellent,” Zachary insists. He stares at her as if he’s never really seen her. This young woman is no-kidding-around talented.
    He taps the screen again. “Where is the rest? I need to see more. I’m excited. I think … I think you’ve really got it.”
    She climbs to her feet. Then she reaches down and carefully lifts the baby from the small basket. Emily makes no sound as