Second Chances

Part 3

Kate opened the door to her old room and wheeled her suitcase towards the bed. The room was almost exactly as she had left it years prior. A poster of Tori Amos hung on the wall. An old tripod was propped in the corner next to a pile of books. Picture frames and scented candles shaped like a peace sign and a frog sat on a shelf above her bed. A corkboard collaged with Poloroids, tickets from movies and concerts, pages ripped from magazines, and handwritten notes on notebook paper was suspended in time over her old desk. 

Kate paused to take it in for a moment. Most of the photos were of Emaline. Dancing in the parking lot of their favorite pizza place, head tossed back and laughing in the car, with her arms slung around Kate as they leaned against the bed in this very room, and in her prom dress with the corsage Kate made for her from pages of Shakespeare plays. Kate touched one of the ticket stubs. It was from the No Doubt concert at the Rose Garden in Portland the night Emaline told her that she loved her. Kate had surprised Emaline with the tickets. She had gotten in line outside the ticket booth as 9 pm the night before so she would be the first person in line when the tickets went on sale at 8 am. 

"I love you!" Emaline squeeled when Kate told her that she would be seeing Gwen Stefani, herself, performing Emaline's favorite songs from Tragic Kingdom. 

The barbed joy of the memory was too much for Kate to linger on, so she tossed her suitcase on the bed and began to unpack. She went to put her clothes away in her dresser, opening the top shelf only to find a mound of mix tapes Emaline had made for her.

"No wonder I've never been back to deal with anything in this room," she exhaled, "it's full of landmines!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Sherry peaked her head in, "Kate?" She asked, "Can I come in?"

"Hi! Of course!" Kate said excitedly, rushing over to give Sherry a hug. 

"It's so good to have you home, Sweetheart!" Sherry told Kate.

"I'm so glad to be here. It's been much too long since I've been home. I'm sorry I haven't come home more," Kate replied.

"Oh, that's okay, I understand. You have your own life to live, and I'm sure it's..." She trailed off.

"Hard to come back?" Kate filled in for Sherry.

"Yeah..." Sherry agreed, eyeing Kate before asking, "but how are you? How was your flight?"

An hour later, Kate was dressed and doing her makeup in front of the mirror. Sherry popped back into the room, "are you almost ready? Your dad is just picking out a tie and then we're ready to go."

"I just need to put on some mascara and jewelry and I'm all set," Kate told her step-mother. "You look beautiful, Sherry. That is a great color on you."

"Thank you, your dad picked it out!" Sherry revealed.

"He has great taste!" Kate chuckled.

"Speaking of taste," Sherry said, looking at the jewelry hanging on the vanity. She selected a necklace and held it out to Kate. "I've always liked this one." It was the necklace Emaline had picked out for Kate that day they went thrift shopping after school, before they ever admitted their crushes to each other.

"Oh. Um. Thanks, Sherry. But I thought I would wear this one," Kate said, randomly grabbing another necklace. Any other necklace but that one.

"That one is pretty, too. You will look great in anything you wear," Sherry smiled.

Just ask Kate fastened the other necklace around her neck, the front door of the house burst open, "where's my sister?!" bellowing up the stairs into the room.

"There's Luke now!" Sherry said happily. "You ready?"

"Yup," Kate declared as she rushed to squeeze her step-brother and best friend.