Laura tells Liz that'll be fine, closes the window, and turns around, wondering what she'll find.

Who knows? Maybe she imagined the flowers and the ticket home, too.

Of course she did.

Everyone knows florists don't deliver airline vouchers.

Except . . . this one does.

Because the voucher- and the vase filled with beautiful white lilies- calla lilies-is definitely real.

TWENTY-THREE.

Lily Dale

Friday, October 12

7:25 a.m.

"Lisa! Thank goodness you didn't leave for school yet!"

"Calla?"On the other end of the telephone line, her friend sounds bewildered. "What are you doing calling so early? Is everything okay?"

"Not really."

"Oh, no. What happened?"

Where to begin?

She sinks into a chair at her grandmother's kitchen table.

Maybe it was a mistake to call Lisa right now. She did it impulsively, as she was getting ready to head out the door to school. Odelia is still asleep upstairs-Calla checked several times as she was taking a shower and getting dressed and using makeup in an attempt to mask the evidence of her rough, sleepless night.

Knowing Evangeline left for school early today, she found herself feeling desperate to talk to someone.

I guess I just have to say it out loud, Calla decides. To make sure it's really true.

Which really makes no sense.

She knows it's true.

She was up all night, reading and rereading her mother's computer files.

"The thing is, Lis' . . . last night, I found out that I have a sister."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I know . Crazy, right?"She gives a shaky, humorless laugh.

"What are you talking about? How can you have a sister?"

"It's a half sister, really. My mother had a baby with her old boyfriend."

"You have a baby sister and she didn't tell you? But how-"

"No! No, this was years ago. Before she even met my dad. It's not a baby sister, it's a grown- up sister. Half sister."

"I can't believe this,"Lisa drawls.

"I can't, either."Calla toys with the strap of her duffel bag, packed for the weekend and draped over the back of the chair, ready for her grandmother to deliver to Dad later . . . along with the bombsh.e.l.l discovery.

"Did you meet her?"

"No! I didn't even know she existed until a few hours ago."Calla draws a deep breath. "She was actually adopted by Sharon Logan."

"Who's that?"

"The woman who-"

"I just remembered! That horrid woman?"

"Yes."

"This is unbelievable, Calla. I can't . . . I just don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just needed to call you."

"I wish I was there."

"I wish you were, too,"she says miserably, trying hard not to start crying again. It's bad enough for her to be going to school today with circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Red and swollen eyes from fresh tears will make people ask questions.

"Do you want me to call Kevin and ask him to drive over from Ithaca?"

"What? No!"That's the last thing she wants.

"He'd want to be there for you, Calla. He's really worried. And he said you never answered any of his e-mails."

"I just did, last night."

And he should have been there for me months ago. Now it's too late.

"Really? You haven't answered any of mine."

"I know, I'm sorry."Suddenly, she feels so weary she can barely speak.

It was probably a mistake to call Lisa. She can be so . . . needy. And right now, Calla is too needy herself to be there for anyone else . . . let alone deal with an ex-boyfriend.

Yes, Kevin and Lisa-and their parents- were there for her and Dad last weekend, in Florida.

Yes, Calla welcomed their support. Even Kevin's.

But now that she's back in Lily Dale . . .

There are just some things they will never understand.

"Lisa, you know what? I've got to run or I'll be late for school."

"Okay. . . . I'll call you this afternoon."

"Okay. Wait! Don't. I'll be gone."

"Where are you going?"

"To look at colleges with my dad."

There's a pause on the other end of the line. "You mean, around there?"

"In Pennsylvania, and . . . around New York."She doesn't want to mention Cornell. In fact, she doesn't even want to go to Cornell.

"What about down here?"

"We were just there, and . . . we can't drive there in a weekend!"She tries to make light of it.

"So you're not going to apply to schools with me, like we said?"

This is not a conversation Calla wants to be having now, in the midst of everything else that's gone on.

"Lis', I don't know for sure where I'm going to apply. But . . . I mean, Florida has some bad memories for me, and it's so far away."

"New York is so far away,"Lisa returns, "from me. We always had plans to go to college together."

I had a lot of plans that aren't going to work out, Calla wants to tell her. You can never really count on anything, because your whole world can shatter in an instant.

But Lisa doesn't get it. She doesn't yet realize that nothing in life is guaranteed.

"You know I love you, Lisa, and I miss you every single day. And no matter where we end up next year, we'll always be friends. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know that."But her voice sounds hollow. "I have to get to school now, too. I'll talk to you after the weekend."

"Definitely. Bye, Lis'."

"Wait, Calla? About the other thing? I'm happy for you- that you have a sister. You always wished you weren't an only child. Remember? We used to pretend we were sisters."

She smiles sadly. "I remember."

"I wish-"

"Lis', you're still like a sister to me. Like I said, we'll always be friends."

Friends living separate lives, a thousand miles apart.

Unless I really do decide to go back down south.

She hangs up the phone, pulls on her jacket, and picks up her backpack. As she steps out into the crisp morning, with a hint of sun filtering through red and gold autumn leaves, she knows in her heart that Florida is behind her for good.

TWENTY-FOUR.

Lily Dale

Friday, October 12

3:20 p.m.