When We Fall by Emily Liebert Read Free Book Online

day too. She’d been up at four in the morning, unsure whether to feel exhilarated or anxious. Somehow, healing in her new surroundings seemed easier than being exposed to daily reminders of Jack. On theother hand, she was terrified she’d lose those cherished memories. Save for Logan, they were all she had left.
    â€œIt’s cool that I’m going to the same school you went to. Don’t you think?” Logan blew his bangs out of his eyes and took a generous bite of the warm cinnamon raisin bagel he was clutching in both hands. A glob of cream cheese dribbled down his chin, landing on his blue jeans. In one swift motion, he scooped it up with his index finger and deposited it directly into his mouth, delightfully unaware of the chalky white blotch it had left behind.
    Allison had decided to mail-order a dozen bagels from Sammy’s in New York City in an attempt to inject some familiarity into Logan’s new routine, which had prompted him to ask, “Don’t they have bagels in Wincourt?” Of course they had bagels in Wincourt. But they didn’t have Sammy’s. Sammy’s had been
their
bagel place. Hers and Logan’s. Just as she and Jack had had
their
bagel place on the Upper West Side, which they’d rolled into on Sunday mornings wearing scarcely more than their pajamas. Luigi’s. She’d never forget that name because each and every time they’d gone there, Jack had mused about how silly it was to name a bagel place after an Italian guy, even if he was the owner. Couldn’t he have pretended to be a Jonah or a Noah for the sake of tradition?
    In many ways, it was as if she’d lived two separate lives in New York. One with Jack. And one with Logan. But there were no crossed paths. No shared experiences among all of them. There was just Allison. The common thread that entwined their splintered family of three into one patchwork tapestry of memories.
    â€œHuh?” Lost in thought, she turned into the Wincourt Elementary School parking lot.
    â€œI said it’s cool I’m going to the same school that you went to when you were my age.” Logan looked up at her expectantly. “Mom, are you listening to me?”
    â€œYes, I’m listening.” She laughed, putting the car in park. “Now you listen to me.” She cupped Logan’s face in her hands and kissed him on the forehead. “You have the best first day of school ever, okay? And remember I love you—”
    â€œâ€”to the moon and back.” Logan finished her sentence and hopped out of the car, as if the fact that his whole world had been turned upside down was no big deal. Why was it that kids were so much more resilient than adults?
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Allison skulked outside Logan’s classroom, careful to remain incognito. No matter how many times he’d sworn up and down that he’d be fine, she still couldn’t manage to vacate the premises. Being back at Wincourt Elementary School—the site of her own second- through sixth-grade career—felt like coming home in a way she hadn’t anticipated. For starters, everything was exactly the same, only on a smaller scale. Or had it always been that way? Upon walking through the front door, she’d suddenly become a giant in a midget’s world. Narrow hallways. Miniature chairs. Pint-sized people. It was tantamount to Munchkinland in
The Wizard of Oz
, minus Glinda, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Yellow Brick Road.
    She hadn’t bothered to make the trek up for parents’ night, having been focused solely on the myriad details of their move. And also because, traditionally speaking,parents’ nights were risky—the beaming fathers asking questions they’d never actually need the answers to, just so they could be part of the process, if only for a night. After that, the mommies and nannies would be in charge of things like books, lunches,