Cecelia Ahern - Where Rainbows End

Anyway, my point is (I know, I know, there is one), I don’t want to be one of those easily forgotten people, so important at the time, so special, so influential and so treasured, yet years later just a vague face and a distant memory. I want us to be best friends for ever, Alex.

I’m happy you’re happy, really I am, but I feel like I’ve been left behind. Maybe our time has come and gone. Maybe your time is now meant to be spent with Bethany. And if that’s the case I won’t bother sending you this letter. And if I’m not sending this letter then what am I doing still writing it? OK, I’m going now and I’m ripping these muddled thoughts up.

Your friend,

Rosie

From Alex

To Rosie

Subject Buttercup!!

Hey, Buttercup, you OK? (Haven’t called you that for a long time!) I haven’t heard or seen you in a while. I’m sending you this email because every time I call by your house, you’re either in the bath or not there. Should I begin to take this personally? But knowing you, if you had a problem with me you wouldn’t be too shy to let me know all about it!

Anyway, once the summer is over we’ll see each other every day. We’ll be sick of the sight of each other then! I can’t believe this is our last year in school. It’s crazy! This time next year I’ll be studying medicine and you will be hotel manager woman extraordinaire! Things at work have been frantic. Dad kind of gave me a promotion so I’ve more to do than just filing and labelling. (I answer phones now too.) But I need the money and at least I get to see Bethany everyday. How’s your job as chief dishwasher at The Dragon? I’m amazed you turned down baby-sitting for that. You could have stayed in all night and watched TV instead of turning your hands to prunes while you scrape egg noodles from woks. Anyway, email me or call me back or something.

From Rosie

To Alex

Subject Moonbeam!

It’s not because I hate Bethany that I’m not seeing much of you (although I do hate her) it’s just that I think Bethany dislikes me just a little. It could have something to do with the fact that a friend of hers told her what I wrote about her in that (not so) private instant messaging thingy in computer class last year. But I suppose you already know that. I don’t think she liked being called a slut, I don’t know why … some women are just funny like that. (Speaking of computer class, you know Mr. Simpson got married this summer? I’m gutted. I’ll never look at Excel in the same way again.)

Anyway it’s your birthday soon! You will have finally reached the grand old age of eighteen! Want to go out and do some legal celebrating (well, legal for you, anyway)? Let me know.

PS. Please STOP calling me Buttercup!

From Alex

To Rosie

Subject 18th Birthday

Good to hear you’re alive after all. I was beginning to worry! I would love to celebrate my 18th with you but Bethany’s parents are taking me and my parents out for dinner to the Hazel. (How posh is that?) It’s so we can all get to know each other. Sorry, another night definitely.

Dearest Alex,

Well whoopdeedoo for you.

Fuck Bethany.

Fuck her parents.

Fuck the Hazel.

And fuck you.

Love your best friend Rosie

From Rosie

To Alex

Subject Happy Birthday!

OK then. Well, enjoy the meal. Happy birthday!

From Rosie

To Alex

Subject DISASTER!

I can’t believe this is happening! I was just talking to your mum; called over for a chat and she told me the bad news. This is the worst news ever ! Please call me when you can. Your boss keeps telling me you can’t take calls during working hours – QUIT, Mr. I never EVER want to work in an office.

This is so terrible. I feel awful!

Chapter 4

Dear Mr. Stewart,

We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted to fill the position of Vice President of Charles and Charles Co. We are thrilled that you will be joining the team over here and we look forward to welcoming you and your family to Boston.

I hope the relocation package we are offering is to your satisfaction. If there is anything further that Charles and Charles Co. can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. Maria Agnesi, personnel executive, will call you to discuss a suitable date for you to begin work.

We look forward to seeing you at the office.

Welcome to the team!

Yours sincerely,

Robert Brasco

President, Charles and Charles Co.

From Alex

To Rosie

Subject Re: DISASTER!

I’ll call you when I get home. It’s true. Dad was offered a job doing something that sounds incredibly boring … I don’t really know, I wasn’t listening when he told me exactly what. I can’t understand why he has to go all the way over to Boston to do a boring job. There’s plenty of them right here. He can have mine.

I’m so pissed off. I don’t want to go. I only have a year left in school. This is such the wrong time to leave. I don’t want to go to a stupid American high school. I don’t want to leave you.

We can talk about it later. We have to think of a way that I can stay. This is really bad, Rosie.

From Rosie

To Alex

Subject Stay with me!

Don’t go! Mum and Dad said that you could stay here for the year! Finish school in Dublin and then we can both decide what to do after that! Please stay! It will be so brilliant, us living together. It’ll be just like when we were young and we used to keep each other up all night with those walkie-talkies! We used to hear more static than our voices but we thought we were so cool! Remember that time on Christmas Eve absolutely years ago when we had a ‘Santa’ watch? We planned it for weeks, drawing little diagrams of the road and maps of our houses just so we could cover every angle and not miss him. You were on the 7–10 p.m. watch and I was on the 10 p. m.–1 a.m. watch. You were supposed to wake up and take over from me, but – surprise, surprise – you didn’t. I stayed awake all night, screaming down into that walkie-talkie, trying to wake you up! Ah well, it was your loss. I saw Santa and you didn’t …

If you stay with us, Alex, we’ll be able to talk all night! It would be so much fun. When we were kids we always wanted to live together. Now’s our chance.

Talk to your mum and dad about it. Convince them to say yes. Anyway, you’re eighteen so you can do what you like!

Rosie,

I didn’t want to wake you so your mum said she would pass this on to you. You no I hate goodbyes, but anyway, it’s not goodbye because you’re going to come over and visit all the time. Promise me. Mum and Dad wouldn’t even let me stay with Phil, never mind you. I couldn’t convince them. They want to keep their eye on me for my final year of school.

I have to go … I’ll miss you. Ring you when I get there.

Love,

Alex

PS. I told you, I was awake that Christmas Eve. My battery just went dead on my walkietalkie … (and I did see Santa, I’ll have you no).

Alex,

Good luck, little brother. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy yourself once you get there and I can’t wait to come and visit. Despite having Margaret and the kids, I still feel like moving over with the lot of you. I’ll miss you all. It won’t be the same without you. Stop worrying about Rosie. Her life’s not going to fall apart just because you’re in different countries. But if it’ll make you feel any better I’ll look out for her for you – she does almost seem like my little sister. By the way, if Sandy doesn’t learn how to control her bladder in this house then I’m sending her over to you on a plane.

We’ll miss you,

Phil (+ Margaret, William and Fiona)

From Rosie