All That Matters by Gretchen Young

Author:Gretchen Young
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781401382919
Publisher: Hachette Books

19

LIKE TWO CRIMINALS ON THE LAM, GABBY AND JENNIFER glanced around furtively before hopping in a cab and heading up Broadway. Frieda Steinberg was waiting outside her apartment building on 89th Street, her faded blue ’87 Buick Skylark parked alongside. As Jennifer transferred the bags into the waiting vehicle, Frieda handed Gabby the key and hugged her tightly.

“This is so exciting. It’s like The Fugitive,” she whispered giddily, stealing a glance up and down the block. As Gabby slid into the driver’s seat, Frieda raised her eyebrows. “You don’t want you should have younger eyes behind the wheel?”

“The girl has been up all night,” Gabby explained. “She could use a little sleep, Frieda. Thanks for this. You know I would normally never ask.”

“What are you talking about, it sits in the garage like a widow. You know the feeling. Have a wonderful trip.”

Gabby started the motor and the car lurched forward. She slammed on the brakes and they screeched to a halt.

“You want to ease the brake on, Gabby,” Frieda called through the window. “It’s very sensitive. And don’t have a heavy foot on the gas. There’s a lot of life in her.” Gabby nodded and pulled away. Before she knew it, she had gunned the car down the street, jolted it to a standstill, then bolted forward and around the corner.

“We’re off,” she told Jennifer, who nodded uncertainly.

Gabby pulled onto Riverside Drive and merged with the Henry Hudson Parkway. Jennifer glanced down at Gabby’s feet. They barely reached the pedals. The lurching of the car was already making her sick. She had offered to drive, but Gabby maintained that Jennifer needed her sleep and the ride would go more smoothly when they got to the interstate. Jennifer observed her nana peering comically over the wheel, her face a study in concentration. But after the night she had had, she couldn’t muster too strenuous a protest.

“Where are we going anyway?” Jennifer asked as she closed her eyes and snuggled into the cushiony flowered fabric of the passenger seat.

“Your mama and I, we loved doing this when she was a young girl. While your papa Itzik was busy with the tailoring and the mending for his clients, we would play a little hooky from Lili’s school and run away from the city. I thought maybe you and I could play a little hooky. Someplace no one can find us?”

Jennifer didn’t really care where they were headed, just as long as she didn’t have to go back to her father and the doctors in L.A.

“Well, the final destination is a secret,” Gabby said with a mischievous grin. “But I can tell you that first we’re heading north to the Berkshires. It’s a little out of the way, but there’s a town your mother and I loved to visit on our trips. We’d watch the leaves fall in October. We’re a little late for that now. Oh, we’d sit outside the Red Lion Inn eating fresh pumpkin pie and talking about our dreams.”

They

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