Dedication Read Online Free Page A

the back roads.”
    “Well, they’ve erected a statue of him made out of Spam, covered Main Street in one long red carpet that runs all the way to his bedroom, the mayor has declared this National Jake Sharpe day, and twelve vestal virgins will be blowing him at tonight’s Christmas pageant. This town—has gone—insane…Kate? You there?”
    I shake my head, incredulous.
    “Kate?”
    My jaw agape, I click through the news channels, all of which show some pastel-coated blonde trying to blink against the snow while locals bounce up and down with HI, MOM! signs in the background as if outside the Today show.
    “Multiplatinum recording megastar Jake Sharpe has just announced—”
    “In—of all places—his hometown—”
    “His engagement to international recording superstar, Eden Millay—”
    “MTV sat down with Jake six months ago—”
    “E! will be bringing you live coverage as the story unfolds—”
    “Some cynics have noted the announcement of this relationship dovetails conveniently with the pending release of her first film and his greatest hits album—”
    “Here at CNN we are all very happy for him and wish the couple a very Merry Christmas indeed—”
    “Some say this is just the tip of the love iceberg—” comes through the receiver in stereo.
    I shut it off. “Fuck.”
    “Do you think it was a love iceberg that sank the Titanic?” I hear the tin clang of a baking sheet hitting the floor and the twins “uhoh”-ing in chorus. “Gotta go. Stay strong, The Moment has arrived.”
    Furrowing my eyebrows, I click the screen back to life, the town center just a few hundred yards outside the picture window falling under siege as I fire through the channels…
    “Jake Sharpe—”
    “Jake Sharpe—”
    “Jake Sharpe—”
    “Hello?” Mom calls out, her voice tinged with apprehension. “Kate?”
    “Yes, hey! I’m in here!” I call.
    “No.” She wings into the doorway, ankle-length down coat still on, her pale cheeks flushed. “Dammit. I knew it. Who told you? I wasn’t going to tell you. Laura. Laura told you—”
    Ready since I boarded the first plane, I stand, clasping the blanket around my shoulders. “Mom, you could’ve put every resident of Croton under a gag order and I’d still be at the gym in Charleston right now getting a blow-by-blow from Anderson Cooper.”
    “You’re kidding.” She comes around the corner and stares at the screen as I click through the channels to demonstrate. “The world’s gone mad.” She takes the remote from me and presses OFF .
    Indignity flickers like a lit filament through my jaw. “And what about you two?” I point accusingly through the door to the entryway’s stripped walls. “Why haven’t you told me anything about this?”
    “We didn’t want to do it over the phone. Good Lord, it’s broiling in here.” She rips the snaps of her coat apart. “We thought we’d wait until we saw you at the beach.”
    “Okay. That’s one strategy. Where are you moving to?” I peer at her as she looks down to unzip the lining layer.
    “Oh, Kate, the agent said it was going to take months and then we got an offer the first weekend and it’s all happened very fast.” She shakes off the gray down and drops it on the couch. “Your father’s left his post at the library—”
    “He’s what?”
    “He’s done. He needs a change of scenery.” She lifts her shoulders, her characteristic move to summon positivity. “So I just do a little bit of packing every weekend; it helps me adjust to the idea.”
    “Of what?” I cock my head, unable to imagine them anywhere but here doing anything else but what they do. Did.
    “Sarasota. We’re going to move to the condo for a year and then see what we feel like doing next. Dad needs a break from the snow.” She gives me a wan smile. “And I’m adjusting.”
    “Adjusting?” I ask, low panic a rumbling submarine beneath the surface of my mission.
    “I’m retiring at the end of next