Vision of Secrets Read Free

just wanted to reach out and say
hi?”
    “Have you asked your parents about him?” Mary
asked. “Or about the rest of your family?”
    “I tried once,” I said. “When I was younger.
Mom gets angry, Dad gets upset. So I avoid it.”
    “Okay,” Mary said. “Let’s get back to the other
day. You bought a dress, but you didn’t know why.”
    “I just had this feeling,” I said. “I should
mention that happens too. I get these feelings, like don’t sit in
the seat next to Lucy Wolfowitz back in second grade. I’ve learned
to listen when I get those sudden feeling to do or not do
something. Wish I had listened back then with Lucy.”
    “Why? What happened?”
    “With Lucy?” I asked. “She threw up all over
me. She ruined my favorite dress back then. It had butterflies on
it. I like butterflies.”
    Mary smiled. “So back to the dress. The black
one without the butterflies.”
    I shrugged. “I just had this feeling to go into
the store; I looked around, and saw it there on the rack. So I got
it. I just felt like I should. I didn’t even bother to try it on. I
know it’ll fit. It’s hanging in my closet. Waiting.”
    “Any idea what it’s waiting for?”
    I shrugged. I had a few ideas, but I didn’t
want to say.
    “So the next day was your birthday?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Big whoop.”
    “Bristol,” Mary said. “It’s not every day that
you turn seventeen. Certainly you had a celebration.”
    “You want to hear about my birthday?” I
said.
    Mary nodded. “Yes, I would.”
     
    * * * *
     
    I got up and looked around for my mom and dad,
but I was alone in the apartment we shared. Jerry popped in while I
was in the shower.
    “What are you doing?” I yelled.
    “Sorry,” he said, his hand over his eyes. “I
saw you looking for your parents. They left a note. It’s tacked on
the fridge.”
    “I’ll look when I’m dressed,” I said. “Could
you get out?”
    “Yeah,” he said. “It’s just that I always sang
in the shower and…”
    I threw a bar of soap that went right through
his head.
    “Okay,” he said. “Alright. I’m
going.”
    I watched as he disappeared but not before
peeking through his fingers.
    Jerry was gone by the time I was dressed. I
prayed that meant he had finally moved on, but somehow I knew
better.
    When I was dressed, I went out to the kitchen.
There was a pile of mail on the counter and a small package address
to me. I opened it up and found a birthday card with a cute little
dog on it. It made me smile. It was from Uncle Mark. There was a
gift there too. It was a pair of earrings. Nothing fancy but
pretty. They had butterflies on them.
    Next, I went to the fridge and found the note
my parents had left.
     
    Bristol,
     
    Your father is going out of town
tonight. I’ve got a late meeting and then I’m seeing some friends.
We’ll probably won’t see you until after the weekend. Order pizza,
I left money.
     
    Mom.
     
    I looked around to see if there was another
note, or a card, or something else that would show either of them
had even remembered today was my birthday, but there was no other
sign.
    I wanted to grab the note and rip it to little
pieces, but I didn’t know if I’d have time. If I did, I’d probably
yell and maybe cry. I would be a mess and would have to go freshen
up.
     
    Instead I pushed it to the back of my mind,
grabbed my bag, and left for school. On the bus, I pulled off the
earrings I had originally put on and replaced them with the
butterfly ones my uncle had sent. At least someone on this planet
knew it was my birthday today.
    Anyone who saw me on the bus would have seen
your typical teenage girl. But inside, there was a little girl,
crying.
     
    * * * *
     
    I didn’t see Jerry as I made my way to school,
which was good since I was in no mood to deal with him. I looked
for Brady, but I didn’t see him around. I made my way to class but
was distracted by a girl named Holly. She was passing in and out of
rooms, letting students