Transitions Read online

  Erika held one up to the glow. “A bee,” she gushed. “Aww. It’s a bee.”

  “B, E, E. All five of us are a family and now we have the jewelry to prove it. I’ll get the bees put on ours, but I hate to take them off.”

  “I love it.” Erika kissed Tom Alan on the cheek, and then the lips.

  “Milo and I have never traded back. It might sound silly—I hope it was his good luck charm that day, on the train.”

  “That reminds me.” Erika was wearing the jacket she’d had on the day she’d picked up the marble and the red string in the rink’s parking lot.

  “What’s that?”

  “The things we found the day Kensuke…” She handed the string to Tom Alan.

  “I forgot about these.”

  “Well, I kept thinking it was a sign…maybe from Papa…telling us to look out for him.”

  “Maybe. We will, even after he’s on his own again after graduation. You know I believe Papa can speak to us. Red…” He twisted the string around his finger. “The color of love…a happy color in Japan. None of it really fits the Japanese folklore, I guess. None of it fits traditional Japanese folklore when it comes to spirits and ghosts. What happened on Ben’s wedding day didn’t either. Of course, red often means danger, but who says signs from beyond have to follow anyone’s rules?”

  “True.”

  “Papa told me, right before he died, if we feel something, it’s real. Oh. Did I ever tell you what Milo said? According to him, there’s a thing in the UK where if you find a string it signifies you should pay more attention to the ties that bind, like family.”

  “Oh?”

  “So…I’m going to stay put right here…except when we have to travel for skating. Chicago, Sapporo, Marseilles, Kansas City, Gangneung, Helsinki…Next year, PeyeongChang…Everything else was running…from this…us…my confusion.”

  “I was wrong. That made me even happier.” Erika stood. “Let’s go wait for our fellers and our teenagers to get home.”

  Tom Alan laughed. “Hand me your pendant.” He put it around her neck. “What a difference two years makes—and the four since Sochi have gone by in a blur.”

  “I’m never taking this off.” She held the coin against her palm. “I can’t wait to give Billy his. You think he and Milo will be jealous when we don’t get them matching gold medals next February?”

  “I don’t know.” Tom Alan took her hand. “We share everything now, so we might have to try to find a couple extras.”

  Of all the words there were in the world, spoken in the many languages in all of the places Erika traveled with Tom Alan for skating, a short one, only four letters, was the most powerful one she knew. It could ease the hurt of the nasty ones that stuck with Billy from years ago. It could help with his bad memories. It made Tom Alan feel whole again, and bonded him and Milo, Billy and Erika, and all four of them together. What would they use to guide Etsuko as she grew? What helped Jesse feel stronger and gave Kensuke hope? The answer, the word, was love.

  THE END

  ABOUT DAVID CONNOR

  David has always wanted to be a daytime drama writer. His books are like soap operas in print, filled with intrigue, romance, comedy, and drama. His imagination refuses to shut off even when he sleeps. Many of David’s plots and ideas come from nightly dreams and nightmares. He lives in upstate New York with a kitty cat named Molly and the spirits of several doggies and kitties who have passed on. David enjoys writing (of course), puttering in the garden, and naps for new story ideas.

  For more information, visit facebook.com/mmromcomsinprint.

  ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC

  JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!