The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman

Author:Viola Shipman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Graydon House Books
Published: 2021-08-21T04:05:37+00:00

chapter 12

“You look remarkably—” Lisa searches for the right word, tugging her sweater around her tightly as if to pop out the correct one “—relaxed.”

My head spins. How could she know about last night? Or do I seem different? I certainly feel different.

“Time away must have been good for you,” she says.

“Look—” I start.

She cuts me off. “Wasn’t good for the station.”

“I’m sorry about everything, Lisa. I’m sorry I blew up on air. I’m sorry about our fight. I’m sorry I ran away.”

“No, you’re just sorry you might have ended your career for the last time.”

Her voice is roughly the decibel level of a flyover by the Blue Angels. She gets up to shut her office door. A crowd of weekend staff has already gathered to witness the commotion.

The scariest thing about Lisa’s tone is that although it’s loud, it’s largely without emotion.

Lisa takes a seat behind her desk and checks her cell.

She’s done, I think. With me. With everything.

“No, I really am sorry, Lisa. Truly. I hurt you. I hurt the station. I hurt my coworkers. I hurt my anchors. I hurt Icicle. I hurt my mom.” I look at her. My lips begin to quiver. “I just hurt, Lisa. And I have for a very long time.”

I take a deep breath and become a verbal blizzard.

“My little sister died in a tragic accident when she was still a kid,” I say.

“Oh, Sonny!”

“I loved her more than anything. I still do. Joncee adored everything about winter. She was pure light and goodness. How do you go on when your little sister is taken? When her life is stolen before it’s even started? When you blame yourself?”

Lisa reaches out and takes my hand.

I continue, head down. “The only way I could was to put a wall around myself, to distance myself from those who wanted to get too close. I did that in college, Lisa, because you reminded me of my sister: all energy and sweetness and love of winter. I don’t think I could have gone on, so I just lashed out, or kept people at bay. All I wanted was to be someone new, someone different, someone who didn’t have to talk about her sister.”

“You became Sonny?”

I nod. When I am finally able to look at her, tears are welled up in her eyes.

“I’m so, so sorry, Sonny,” she finally says. “My heart breaks for you. I wish I would have known. I wish you would have confided in me. Thank you for sharing. And what a huge compliment. I reminded you of your sister.” Lisa begins to cry. I grip her hand tightly and give it a shake. There is a long silence, and then Lisa continues. “Better yet, why didn’t I know this? I run a news station in a small city. I should have done better research.”

I smile.

“You really hurt me in college, and that stayed with me for a very long time. I know I come on too strong. I...” Lisa stops, unable to finish her thought.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.