them at me. “There’s somebody I want you to meet,” he said, looking suddenly sheepish.
“Right now?”
“Yeah, right now.” He opened the dressing-room door and motioned to somebody outside.
A scrawny teenager entered, almost as tall as Ripley but skinny as a rail. He wore black jeans and a button-up still creased from the store, and his dark brown bangs hung over acne-riddled skin. He shot me a wary glance.
Ripley said, “Ellie, Jude. Jude, Ellie.”
Jude gave me a cool nod, but I stepped forward and hugged him. “I’ve heard so much about you,” I said.
He stiffened in my embrace, so I stepped back.
“Your show was sick,” he said, brushing aside his bangs. “But you should’ve had fire.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Maybe next time.”
The three of us stood there for a long, uncomfortable moment, and then Ripley said, “You should call your dad.”
I made my way to the loading dock. My hair was still wet, and it was chilly out here, but I didn’t care. I pulled my hood over my head and took out my phone.
Dad answered on the first ring. “You did it! You did it!”
I heard cheering and applause in the background; it sounded like at least a dozen people.
“Who’s with you?” I asked.
“The whole damn cardiac unit!” he said, and there was more cheering on his end. “Nurses, specialists . . . You should have seen Dr. Saroyan. He actually chest-bumped one of the surgeons.”
“No way,” I said, laughing.
“Oh, Ellie,” Dad said. “You were marvelous. Just marvelous.”
“I almost drowned myself.” I sat down on the concrete dock, letting my feet dangle over the edge.
“We had contingencies in place. You were never going to drown.”
The background noise faded; I imagined nurses and doctors filtering out of the room, going back to work.
“You know,” he said, “your mother would be very proud of you.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but the words got lodged in my already swollen throat. I felt my tear ducts start to dilate. I bit my lip, tilted my head back, and blinked rapidly. My makeup was already wrecked from the whole nearly drowning thing, but old habits died hard.
“Ellie?”
“I’m here.” The words sounded choked, but I was back in control.
“I want to thank you.”
“Dad, please don’t.”
“You hush and let your father speak.”
I did.
“I want to thank you for taking care of me. For fighting for me.” He paused. “You are better than the best daughter I could have imagined. You are magic.”
I covered my face with my hand. My shoulders shook. I felt as if, after years of climbing, I had finally reached the summit, only to realize that from here all roads led down. That in order to arrive at the next peak I would have to descend again into the shadow of the valley. The thought of going back down left me exhausted. My brain crackled. The power lines weren’t down yet, but it would only take one storm.
But I was on that summit now. And maybe I could stay here for a little while longer. Rest. Soak up the sun. Recharge my batteries before I headed back down the mountain.
“Dad?” I said.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I want to do it again.”
I could almost hear him smile. “There she is.”
After cleaning up my face and changing into a fresh black dress I’d borrowed from Grace, I dragged Ripley and Jude into a limo, and we rode to the Magic Castle with Dane Madigan and Chris Gongora. While Jude and Ripley obsessed over the curved TV and the built-in bar, I talked shop with Dane and Chris. Both of them offered generous compliments about my performance; I nodded and smiled and tried to be gracious, but my brain and stomach were both doing cartwheels. I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.
Maybe not the next night, either.
My phone buzzed.
Liam: Wow. Just Wow.
Me: You watched?!
Liam: No, there was a Notre Dame game on. I’ll catch it on YouTube later.
Me: You are the actual worst ever!!
Liam: Seriously though. I had no idea you could do that.
Me: There are a lot of things you have no idea I can do.
Liam: . . . Are you flirting with me right now?
I let him enjoy the bouncing dots for a long time before I sent my reply.
The limo pulled into the driveway in front of the Castle, and a valet opened the door. Chris got out first and offered me his hand. I took it and we emerged into a blinding fusillade of camera flashes. I posed and smiled and tried to surrender