Read The Day Before for Free Online Page B

strength. Look at how you helped your sister, and even me at times, through the divorce. You have such a good head on your shoulders.
You can do this. You can! And you know we’ll be right by your side doing everything we can to help you through this.
Although you will have to leave the things and people you love, you’ll always come back to them. You aren’t losing us, sweetheart. I know it may feel that way, but you’re not losing us! We can talk every day on the phone, we can do Skype chats, I’ll even come down a couple of times and spend the weekend with you. I’ve already checked with Allen and Jeanie, and they said they wouldn’t have any problem with that.
We must stick together and adjust to this big change.
Thank you for letting me know how you feel. I’m always here for you—don’t ever forget that. No matter where you are, I’m here for you.
I love you,
Mom

more surprises
    Back at the table,
I want to put everything
out of my mind
except for Cade.
    While we wait for food to come,
we stick to safe
topics of conversation.
    Our favorite seafood—
him: lobster
me: crab
    What we like to read—
him: graphic novels
me: realistic fiction
    Our pets—
him: a dog named Boo
me: a cat named Tiny
    How said pets got their names—
him: white like a ghost
me: the fattest cat you’ve ever seen
    How many girlfriends/boyfriends we’ve had—
him: two
me: one (although I don’t tell him it was one
of those fake fifth-grade romances)
    Whether we are attached at the moment—
him: no
me: no
    And then we get
quiet.
    Luckily the waiter
brings our food.
Steak and lobster.
    “Uh, this is your usual?” I ask.
    “My mom’s a vegetarian.
I can’t eat like this at home.
Plus, my older brother owns the place.”
    “Family discount, then?”
    He smiles.
    “Thanks.
For bringing me here.”
    As if on cue,
music starts to play.
It sounds like it’s coming
from upstairs.
I take my knife and fork
and tap out the beat
on the table.
    It makes him laugh.
“I had a feeling you might like it here.”
    And I have a feeling,
as the drumbeats
get louder,
that he is exactly right.

where I belong
    Bellies full
of surf and turf
and spirits tired
of trying too hard
to keep things simple,
we head upstairs.
    A small crowd
has gathered
to listen to the band.
    The loud, fast music
with a hard edge
comes at us,
and I feel it
slicing
us
    wide open.
    They want us
to feel the loudness,
not just hear it.
    And people do,
raising their fists
in the air,
    punch,
punch,
punching it out,
    showing the band
they’re with them
all the way.
    It’s not the best
music in the world,
and who knows
what the hell
the lyrics are,
but right now,
loud works.
    I watch the drummer
and focus on
the rhythm he plays.
    He pounds out
the beats
with purpose,
and my arms ache
to make some noise.
    Cade leans in,
yells in my ear,
“Do you want to play?”
    “What? With them?” I ask.
“Yeah. I know them.
    They’re cool.”
    They finish the song and the
lead singer bends down
to grab his drink.
    “But I don’t know their songs.”
    “I bet you can find something.”
    I can’t deny it. I’d love to play.
Still, I try to keep it cool.
“Sure. If they’re up for it.”
    He runs up onstage and
I see him talking
and pointing at me.
    It’s not long before
I’m onstage, Cade
introducing me
to the band members,
Martin, Chase, and Henry.
    “How about some White Stripes?” I ask.
    “Seven Nation Army?” Henry suggests.
    I nod.
Awesome.
    The drummer, Chase,
jumps offstage and heads
for the bar.
    I sit down.
I raise my arms in the air.
    And before I know it,
there is nothing in this
world except me
and the rhythm
and the music
and the display of fists
telling me that right now,
everything is exactly
how it should be.

music is such an aphrodisiac
    It’s the release
I needed.
    I play like a girl
possessed.
    The boys offer me
the gift of
a solo, so I take it,
open it up,
and make it mine.
All mine.
    When we’re through,
the crowd yells
and I take a bow,
gratitude