Olivia didn’t know what had helped her focus so well over the past two weeks, and three weeks since the funeral, but she liked to believe her grandma was with her, helping her edit the book.
‘No, that goes there,’ she’d say, or, ‘what about emphasising this bit, it was such a memorable day,’ or, ‘I remember what I was wearing that day, put that in too!’
Though Olivia’s name would be on the cover as the author, to her it was a joint project.
And as she came to the last page on the final read-through, her heart beat faster in anticipation. She reread the last line, and smiled, knowing it fit perfectly. Then as her grandma had asked, she deleted the words ‘The End’. In their place, she typed: The Beginning of a New Adventure.
She clicked save and stood, then did her victory jiggle again as she’d done when she’d first finished the book. It was late, and Mia was asleep. She’d talk to her mother abut the book tomorrow, when she was planning on giving her the recordings and a copy of the manuscript to read before sending it to the editor Joel had recommended. She was going out with April for lunch tomorrow and could tell her then, and then she would start planning publication and a launch for May the following year.
But first …
She pressed Joel’s number on her phone.
‘Hey there, night owl,’ he answered.
‘Hey. Guess what?’
‘You went abseiling? Parachuting? Bungy jumping?’
‘Funny. No, I finished the editing, so I’m ready now to go to the editor and to get the ball rolling for publication!’
‘Woohoo, fantastic!’ he said.
‘And of course you’re going in the acknowledgements,’ she added.
‘Not necessary, but thank you.’
‘It is necessary. You helped me so much,’ she replied. ‘In more ways than one.’ She noticed the date on her wall calendar. ‘Oh, you’re probably just about ready to leave on your next adventure?’
‘Yep,’ he replied. ‘Just about ready.’
This was it. She couldn’t be sad, had to be grateful for what they’d had, however brief. ‘And where to this time?’
‘I’ll let you know when I arrive. Maybe I’ll send a postcard or something.’
‘Do people still do that these days?’
‘Don’t know, but I can if you want.’
‘I want.’
‘Done.’
She smiled. It was nice to have something to look forward to, even if it was just a simple postcard. ‘Thanks again, Joel. And enjoy your next adventure.’
‘I will, for sure.’