Invisible by Jeanne Bannon Read Free Book Online

laughter, picturing the scene and when my laughing fit’s over, she tells me stuff, good stuff.
    “ Have you figured out how to tell when you’re invisible yet?” she asks.
    I whip my head toward her, all ears. “There’s a way to tell?”
    “ Yes, it’s subtle, though, so you’ll have to pay attention to the signs your body gives you. When you’re invisible, your heartbeat slows right down, but only for a moment. It’s as if it’s barely beating. But when you’re about to vanish, there’s a little flutter in your chest. The same thing happens when you’re about to return.”
    “ I was too freaked out to notice anything. But this is good to know, Gran. I’ll pay attention next time.”
    “ Yes, you do that. You’ll soon know the signs. Hungry? You want to grab something to eat?”
    “ No.” I don’t want our conversation to end. I’m still too full of questions.
    “ Okay, just let me know when you get hungry,” she says, slowing her pace and pressing a finger to her neck. “Heart’s beating a little fast.”
    Suddenly, I realize I’m being selfish, that she might be tired or hungry. “Are you tired? ’Cause we can stop. Or if you’re hungry…”
    She waves me off. “Naw, I’m fine. Just need to slow down a bit.”
    I slow my pace to match hers. “How about Uncle Brian, can he do it?” Uncle Brian is Grandma Rose’s son, my mother’s brother.
    Gran shakes her head. “No, none of the men can.”
    “ So only the women in the family?”
    “ Yup, and it comes from the Irish side. I was afraid your dad’s Italian genes would mess you up like it did Eva, but thankfully you’ve got more Irish in ya than Italian.” She winks.
    Grandpa Ken was English, but Grandma Rose is 100% Irish and proud of it. I always thought of myself as a mutt, a little of this and a little of that, but now that Gran has explained where The Vanishing comes from, it’s like I suddenly belong somewhere and feel closer to her than ever.
    “ When did The Vanishing stop for you?” I ask.
    Gran waves a hand in the air. “I dunno for sure. I guess when the menopause hit.”
    “ Wow, so it stayed for quite a while?”
    “ I suppose it stayed for as long as it needed to.” She heaves a sigh.
    “ What if it happens because I’m wishing it to?” I ask, thinking of Charlie’s theory. “Because if you think about it, it happens when I’m either scared or embarrassed and desperately wishing I could blend into the woodwork.”
    “ Hmmm, well, I suppose that could be partly right. But I really can’t say for sure because it’s happened when I was really happy too. Your great-great-grandmother Nell told me that any strong emotion triggers it. Whether it’s happiness or sadness, it doesn’t matter.”
    That makes sense, since it happened to Gran when she was about to kiss a boy. Oh, great, now I have to worry about being too happy or excited. What if I disappear when a boy tries to kiss me!
    “ But one thing I do know for sure,” she continues, “is that the ability to disappear is a gift. A great and wonderful gift.”
    “ It’s gotten me out of a few tight spots, so I guess, in a way, it is a gift.”
    “ Lola, you have no idea just how powerful a gift it is. You just wait and see.”
    It’s nice to know that I’m not alone and not some kind of freak, after all. I squint and smile up at the sun warming my body, lulling me into a blissful cocoon of contentment. Then I look at Grandma Rose and wish with all my might that she could live forever.
    “ One more lap and we’ll call it a day, Kiddo,” Gran says with a wink.
    And off we go, hand in hand.
    If only time would stand still.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Can u meet me at Tim Horton’s? I text Charlie.
    Half a second later, her reply reads, B there in 5 .
    After my day with Gran, I’m anxious to fill her in on the new stuff I’ve learned.
    I’m so excited I practically fly to the coffee shop. When Charlie ambles in, I’m tucked away at our usual table