The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

Blake nudges me. “I’ve had a lot of years to think about it.” ere’s a look in her eyes that I
recognize. A trace of the sadness that is always there when you lose a loved one. e sadness that
changes size and shape, bigger in some moments, smaller in others.
We stand up, stretching, ready to make one last jump down and head back. We count down from
five together, and at the last second, without even thinking about it, I grab Blake’s hand, pulling us
both toward the cli’s edge as the two of us launch into the air at full speed. Our hands pull apart as
we hit the water, but our eyes lock through the sea of tiny bubbles as we swim to the surface.
We paddle to the shore one final time, our legs struling way more now to fight against the
current, until we splash noisily onto the bank, exhaustion setting in. Slowly, we head back to her truck
to dry off and begin the drive back to my house.
e sun dips below the horizon as we spend the whole ride home debating which item to go for
next.
“Tattoo,” Blake says, without even a second thought. “Gotta be tattoo. I mean, how fun would that
be?”
“Uh, no,” I say as I shake my head. Clearly, our idea of fun diered on that particular subject.
“Between today and getting chased out of Snyder’s Orchard, I need a break.”
I find a black felt-tip pen in Blake’s glove compartment, checking o “2. Get over my fear of
heights,” as my eyes scan the rest of the list, the next two items jumping out at me.
3. Go on a picnic.
4. Try a new food.
I smile to myself. My mom was a notoriously picky eater. is one will be a breeze for me, but I bet
this one had been just as hard for her as facing her fear of heights.
“How about we go on a ‘try a new food picnic’? Kill two birds with one stone?” I ask as I quickly
tally the number of days I have left, Blake slowing to a stop outside my house.
Eleven. Only eleven.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Blake says as I scoop up my bag and unclick my seat belt.
“I’ll bring the food,” she calls out the window as I hop out. “I’ll text you this week to make sure it’s
something you’ve never had before.”
“Deal!” I call aer her, waving goodbye. I wait until her truck fades from view before heading inside,
my heart feeling full.
Feeling invincible.
I don’t know if it is the fact that I’ve lived through jumping o a cli with her, or the fact that she
seems like she could be friends with just about anyone, but I feel dierent around Blake. Not only is
she practically a ray of actual sunshine, but… she doesn’t treat me like the girl who lost her mom. e
ghost of the girl she used to be.
She’s the first person I’ve felt like I could be completely real with in a long time. Like there’s no
unspoken expectation, no Kiera and Matt exchanging glances when they think I’ve looked away. Olivia
mouthing “mom” and rolling her eyes to Ryan when I bailed on a weekend trip out of town, worried
something would happen to my dad while I was away.