Someone I Used to Know - By Blakney Francis Page 0,121
a halfway comfortable position, when her drooping eyes spotted the book Jill had dislodged from her backpack. It was the newest edition of the paperback. The original cover had been replaced with the actors from the movie, but the title was the same.
The Girl in the Yellow Dress
Adley froze like the teenager had just wheeled out a loaded gun. Her body went sharply rigid, and the armrest that they shared jolted between them.
“It’s totally lame, I know. All my friends thinks it’s like the greatest book ever, and I wanna be like, come on, have you even read The Great Gatsby? Of course, they think Nicholas Sparks is the equivalent of Shakespeare, so they’re not the greatest judges of literature.” Jill looked abashed, as if getting caught with a popular romance novel was the most embarrassing thing in the world. “My English teacher swears it’s not bad though. He said I should give it a chance, and I figured what better time than when I’d fled the US to risk my literature snob reputation.”
“How far along are you?” Adley asked carefully as she eyed the small section of pages split off from the bulk of the book by a bookmark. She still hadn’t read it and, for the time, was resigned to the decision that she never would, but she was still curious as to why Jill hadn’t recognized her name from the prologue. She knew her name was there. The words forever branded upon her soul:
Her name was Adley Adair, and she was your mother.
Little girl in the yellow dress, this is the story of how much she loved you.
“Like page five, but I always skip prologues and epilogues. I think they’re just extras for people with lazy imaginations. I don’t need a prologue to tell me what a story is going to be about, and all an epilogue really is, is an excuse for the author to draw things out as long as possible. The real ending is always in the last chapter.”
At some point during Jill’s ramblings, Adley had begun to relax, assured that if Jill did make the connection between her and the book, she’d probably think it was cooler that Adley knew C.A. Peterson than anything else. The thought of Cam brought a smile to her face. He’d probably adore Jill and all her literary snobbery. He was always itching for a good book debate.
“I mean, my sister’s read it,” Jill said as if it was the greatest insult one could inflict. Adley’s thoughtful silence hadn’t stopped her from her long-winded diatribe as they hopped from subject to subject. “She talks about how in love she is with the main character, Cam, but, in reality, she’d probably make-out with a rock if Declan Davies played one in a movie.”
Adley couldn’t help but laugh, which only encouraged Jill right along.
“He’s cute and everything, but I bet he’s a total asshole in real life.”
“I bet,” Adley agreed with a secret smile, before switching gears. “Will you do me a favor?”
Jill nodded, her forehead wrinkled and eyebrows raised, unsure of what to make of the request.
“Wait until you get to Australia to read the book.” She enjoyed Jill’s uncensored ramblings. If she realized who Adley was, then those were likely to halt. “And when you do, you should give it a real chance. It’s actually a really interesting story.”
“You’ve read it?” Jill asked, looking surprised.
“No.” Adley shook her head with a chuckle. “No, I haven’t.”
***
“It was really nice to meet you, Adley.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” she answered genuinely as they said their goodbyes once they’d unloaded from the plane. “And don’t forget what I said about The Girl in the Yellow Dress. You should really give it a chance.”
“Jill!” she heard Jill’s older sister reprimanding her as Adley walked away, her pitch nearly at a screech. “Do you have any idea who that was?!”
“Yeah, her name’s Adley Adair,” Jill replied obliviously. Adley could hear the shrug in her words even without turning around to check as she got farther and farther away.
“That’s Declan Davies’ girlfriend! She’s the one…”
Adley grinned as their voices melted into the chatter of the airport. She readjusted her bag, hiking it higher onto her shoulder when she felt the vibrations of her ringing phone. It had only been powered on moments before when they’d been waiting to get off the plane after it had landed.
Who could have possibly timed her arrival so well?