Goodbye Isn't Forever Read Online Free Page A

might need to pull out the fruit pastries that she kept on hand for just
this type of occasion.  Zand always did have a sweet tooth.  “Come on
in.  Have a seat while I make a pot of coffee.  Then you can tell me
what is so important that it couldn’t wait until morning.”
    Zand
glanced at his watch and grinned.  “It is morning, Jen.”
    Jennifer
looked at her grinning idiot of a brother.  “Of course it is, Zand! 
And even back in New York, it is still just five o’clock.  Too damn early
to be up no matter which side of the country you are on!”
    Zand
had the decency to look a little shamefaced.  “Sorry, sis.  I guess I
should have just gone back to my hotel and waited until later, but I …”
    Jennifer
felt a twinge of guilt.  It was just sleep and this was her only
brother.  “It’s okay, Zand,” she interrupted.  “You have something on
your mind and I am glad to be here for you.  Sit down and tell me all
about it.”
    Zand
sighed and wondered where to start.  Jennifer was going to think that he
was crazy.
    “I
saw someone tonight that I haven’t seen, well, in a very long time.  I
don’t think that she remembered me, but I felt so…drawn to her.  And then
we kissed and…”
    “Wait,
what?  Who haven’t you seen in a while?  And you kissed?”
    “I
know, I know, Jen.  But when I saw her again, all of the years just faded
and I was this gawky, adolescent kid again.  I forgot how to dance,
Jen.  I literally, damn well forgot how to dance!”
    Jennifer
sat across from Zand shaking her head.  She was grasping bits and pieces
of the story, and, so far, nothing was making sense.  Jennifer waved her
hand in front of Zand.  “Whoa, little brother!  Slow down.  My
head is spinning just trying to keep up with you.  Now, slowly, start from
the beginning, will you?”
    Zand
took a deep breath and started again.  “Jen, remember that camp that I
used to attend every summer when I was a kid?”
    “That
stuffy camp with all the snotty-nosed rich kids that Dad insisted was good for
you?”
    Zand
chuckled, “Yeah, that’s the one.  Did I ever tell you about my last summer
there?”
    Jennifer
thought a moment, wondering where this was heading.  “I guess that was
when you were, what, seventeen, eighteen?  I had just left for college, so
I don’t remember much about that summer,” Jennifer turned away.  She
didn’t remember much of anything that summer.  The school, the campus,
classes…all was such a blur.  An alcohol and drug-induced blur spurred on
by her crazy musician boyfriend at that time.  She had come close to
losing a lot more than just a summer.  Her time of carelessness and
debauchery had left its mark on her.  She had struggled for years with
alcohol addiction, and the last she had heard of her summer love was that he
was still serving time for his stint at armed robbery.  It was an
eye-opener for Jennifer.  She couldn’t believe he had let the drugs
control his life to that extent.
    Zand
reached over and patted Jennifer’s hand.  “I’m sorry, sis.  I didn’t
mean to remind you of that time.  It’s just, well, when I met… her .”
    Jennifer
shook her head from her bad memories and tried to focus on what Zand was
saying.  “Her?”
    “Yes.” 
Zand’s eyes took on a dreamy appearance.  “I was eighteen though, I
think.  I was upset with Dad because I didn’t want to go to the
camp.  A couple of classmates were going abroad and I wanted to go with
them.  There were some art exhibits on international tour and I wanted to
see them.”  Zand glanced at Jennifer, who was rolling her eyes. 
“What?  You know how important art has always been to me.”
    “Oh,
don’t I know it!  Even at that age, all you wanted to do was hang out at
some stuffy ol’ art museum.”
    Zand
paused from his story to feign outrage.  “They are not stuffy!”
    As
he saw the grin that Jennifer let show, Zand relaxed and resumed his
story.  “As I was