Looking for Julie Read Free Page A

she knows your shrink, Sam,” Jamie said. “Doctor Julie Decker. Right?” He looked at Sam for confirmation.
    Sam turned bright red.
    Lynn, who had been halfway out of her chair when Jamie started talking about Julie, sat down.
    “I’m sorry, but why are you asking?”
    “She disappeared off the radar screen.”
    Sam burned with embarrassment. Both Lynn and Edie were looking at her. She stared at the floor and hissed at Jamie who was standing nearby with a dish in his hand, “Shut up.”
    “Hey, I’m just trying to help.”
    “I’m okay. Okay?”
    “I’ll keep my ears open. I’m going to a psychology conference in a couple weeks,” Lynn said.
    Edie put a hand on Sam’s shoulder again. “You heard the girl. Shut up, Jamie.”
    “How do you find someone if you don’t ask?”
     
     
     
    The runs were lit, the chairlifts running. They put their boots on in the warming lodge and went out into the cold night. Their breath floated before them and their boots crunched on the snow. After snapping into her bindings, Sam pushed off with her poles, skate skiing to the lift. Edie was in front of her, Jamie behind.
    A three-person chair carried them up the hill. Jamie sat in the middle. When he began to rock, Edie snapped, “Cut that out. It’s a long way down and people do fall off.” Elongated shadows of the skiers on the lift stretched across the snow.
    “You’re no fun, Auntie.”
    “Remember that,” Edie said mildly.
    To warm up they skied down the medium runs. Sam pushed off first. Skis parallel, knees slightly bent, she wove her way downward in a series of short, controlled turns. Edie caught up with her halfway and Jamie passed them both at the bottom.
    After a few runs, Jamie said,  “I’m ready for a black diamond. Who’s coming?”
    All three lined up at the top of a steep hill, which disappeared beneath a mound of snow. Edie and Jamie shoved off first. Jamie was a good skier, but Edie was better. She glided over the snow with seemingly effortless control. Sam pushed off and nearly lost her balance flying over the mound. Her skis left the surface and she landed with poles out, snow plowing for control. Regaining her balance, she turned into the hill, heart pounding.
    At the bottom Edie said, “Well done, Sam,” and Sam felt inordinately pleased.
    They headed for Point just before nine. Sam fell asleep as soon as they hit the road. She drifted off with a smile, looking forward to tomorrow, wishing Edie would go with them.
    Jamie shook her awake when they pulled in the driveway. It took her a moment to ground herself. Oh, yeah, she thought, Edie and Lynn. She stumbled after Edie and Jamie into the warm house. One light had been left on.
    “Come on, Sam. I’ll show you your room. You look like you’ve had it.”
    As she lay between fresh sheets, she found herself wide-awake. Edie’s and Lynn’s voices seeped through an adjoining wall. She strained to hear but was unable to make out the words. However, the tenor was the same as her mom and dad talking in their bedroom at night. Perhaps someday she’d have someone to talk to like that, but so far her love life hadn’t begun.
    Jamie woke her in the morning. “It’s snowing like crazy, girl. Get up.”
    She lifted her head, looking at him through bleary eyes, and fell back again. “What time is it?”
    “Nine. The ski hill’s open. Let’s grab some food and go.”
    She crossed the hall to the bathroom and peered in the mirror. Her cowlick poked up like a bunch of feathers. One side of her hair was flattened. She shrugged at her reflection. She’d be wearing a hat, so hair didn’t matter much. Besides, she’d put it in a ponytail. She dressed and went looking for Jamie.
    There were boxes of cereal on the table with bowls and bread and butter and a note that read— Toast, cereal, milk in fridge. Have fun. I’m in my office if you need me.
    Sam’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She looked at it and saw her mom’s work number. She hadn’t