Jude Ouvrard
Wonderland
Wonderland
Lucas Colton is far too young to go through all
this pain but meeting poetry teacher,
Preston Davidson, changed
everything. His life went from heartbreak to joyful and then, from friendship
to love. The impact Preston had on Lucas’
life was mesmerising. What would you do if you knew you may not have a
tomorrow?
Excerpt
When I arrived
at Central Park, Preston was sitting by the statue of Alice in Wonderland with
two steaming cups of coffee in hand. He wore a canary yellow sweatshirt with a
pair of dark blue jeans and black leather converse.
“You’re on
time,” I teased, taking one of the cups from him.
“I figure I
shouldn’t waste any more time.” Preston took a sip of his coffee. “Life is too
important right now. I don’t want to miss anything.”
“I can see
that you’ve thought about my situation thoroughly.” I couldn’t help but be
flattered. It was obvious now that he cared about me, even if just as a friend.
“I have a few
questions for you. If you don’t mind, of course.”
Curious, I
wanted to know what was going on inside his brain. Looking through his glasses,
I saw how tired his eyes were, how the rims were red. He hadn’t slept all
night, I would bet. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer all of them, but I’m
willing to try.”
Preston made
me nervous, and I hoped he wasn’t going to ask for a medical explanation. I had
asked to be told what was necessary. The details weren’t important to me. All I
knew was that I had kidney cancer, and that it had started to spread to my
other organs. My lungs were affected, but they were giving me enough medication
to keep me out of pain.
“I want you to
name three things you can’t live without,” he said. That seemed pretty simple,
nothing to be worried about.
“Coffee, a
good movie, and cheesecake.” I laughed. “You took me off guard. I don’t know,
but those are things that I enjoy, I guess.”
“It’s perfect.
Now tell me: what would you do if bacteria were killing all the coffee beans in
the world, and you foresaw that thirty days from now, you wouldn’t be able to
find a single coffee bean in the world?”
Was Preston
serious? What kind of question was that? I shook my head and smiled. “I’d drink
as much as I could, and I’d try to freeze some to keep for special occasions.”
“Good answer.
Now tell me: what would you do if the film industry decided that it was no
longer profit-earning to produce movies and that thirty days from now, there
wouldn’t be any movies anywhere for sale or rent?”
“I would buy
as many movies as I could afford, and go to the movie theater one last time.”
“Another great
answer. Last, but not least: what would you do if the Cheesecake Factory was
going bankrupt, and thirty days from now, you couldn’t find a single piece of
cheesecake in the entire world?”
“I would eat
cheesecake for every meal, gain weight, and die of heart failure,” I joked.
Preston
laughed. “I’m asking you all these questions because I’ve come up with a plan.
You said you might have weeks to live. Let’s hope you have a month. You have to
make the most out of it. You have to enjoy and do everything you’ve ever
dreamed of doing. Are you ready to have the best time of your life?”
A smile spread
over my lips. “Okay, I see where you’re going with this.”
“I’ll spend
that month with you. I want to be with you every time you smile or cry, when
you feel good, or when you’re in pain. You can’t do this alone, Lucas. So tell
me: what is it that you’ve always dreamed of doing?”
“I’m a pretty
simple guy; don’t need much to be happy, so forgive me if we aren’t going to
Australia. I think we’ll stay here in New York.”
“Sounds good
to me — and my wallet.” Preston looked at me, waiting for me
to tell him everything I wanted to do before the end came.
~~~~~~~~
Jude
was born and raised in a small village named Lacolle. She now lives in
Montreal, Canada. She is the proud mother of a beautiful four year old son, and
has spent the last twelve years with her partner, Cedric.
French
is her native language, but she prefers to write in her second language,
English.
Besides
working full time for a Title Insurance Company and being a mother, Jude
has a passion for books, both reading and writing them.
She
is currently working on a novel called Body, Ink, and Soul. Coming soon!
Also by Jude Ouvrard:
Under the Sun, Heat Wave: Volume Two
website/blog: www.judeouvrard.com
Twitter; www.twitter.com/judeouvrard
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/judeouvrard
About me: http://about.me/judeouvrard
Barnes and Noble:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/jude-ouvrard
No comments:
Post a Comment