The Book of Silver Linings - Softcover

Fischer, Nan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 059343871X ISBN 13: 9780593438718

Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

Within the margins of an antique book, a timeless love waits for a young woman on the precipice of a terrible mistake in this enthralling new novel from the acclaimed author of Some of It Was Real.
 
Constance Sparks always says yes…when her capricious best friend needs money; when her boss gives her more responsibility without a raise; and when her boyfriend, Hayden, who is very kind but also secretive, asks her to marry him.

While planning their wedding—and struggling with anxiety about the right course for her future—Constance researches the history of her antique engagement ring and unearths the name of a man who might be connected to it, plus his tragic love story. When she finds a book of letters in her library’s old manuscript section written by the long-dead man, Constance is deeply touched by his words and leaves a note for him confessing her uncertainty and doubts. She’s shocked days later to find a response tucked among the pages.

As the notes continue to arrive, Constance finds herself quickly falling in love with a ghost and putting her real-life relationship in jeopardy. Will a bond based on letters impossibly sent from the past derail her future? Or will Constance discover her voice and risk everything for the chance to somehow connect with her true soul mate?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Nan Fischer is a two-time Oregon Book Award finalist for her novels, When Elephants Fly and The Speed of Falling Objects. Additional author credits include coauthored sport autobiographies for elite athletes, and a Star Wars trilogy for Lucasfilm. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their vizsla, Boone.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter One

Yoga speed dating? You can't be serious!" I hold out the bright red flyer, awaiting my best friend's reaction. Now I understand why Mars told me to dress casually. She was too smart to suggest yoga clothes-those that can stretch do. I can't and don't and prefer adrenaline sports who do not require an instructor or navel-gazing.

Mars takes the flyer back then tugs me down the sidewalk. "Remind me again, when was your last date?"

I've been on two dates in the past six months. On the first, my date asked the waitress out when he went to the bathroom. The second guy took me to a strip club so I could make it rain dollar bills for the scantily clad performers. I hop over a crack in the pavement. "Fine. I'll go."

"Of course you will," Mars says and bumps my shoulder. "You never say no to any of my ideas."

We pass an unhoused man camped out in the doorway of a closed Gap. A mutt in a blue rain jacket, his face sugared with gray, lies beside him. I dig into my backpack for the plastic bags I always carry and hand the man one. Inside there's a granola bar, a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste, a pair of wool socks, and a grain-free dog biscuit.

"Bless you," the man says while his dog happily munches the treat.

"Seriously? You've added socks?" Mars mutters once we're well past the two of them.

She doesn't begrudge the guy socks. She's just concerned because I live on a tight budget. I glance back. The man has wrapped a sleeping bag around his dog to keep him warm. We get frequent visits from the unhoused at the animal shelter where I volunteer. Most of the time, they take better care of their dogs than themselves. Unconditional love is priceless, something I witness often when our animals find their forever home.

"Watch out!" I drag my best friend around a ladder set beneath a sign for Chestnut Street Doughnuts.

"What do you actually think would happen to us if we walked under it?" she asks.

Mars has always been the voice of reason in my life. "In the old days people believed you'd face death by hanging." I can't help but share the historical origins of the superstition with her. "But my mother thought that the spirits of people were trapped in the triangle beneath the ladder. Walking under it is like asking them to haunt you."

Mars snorts. "And you believe in haunting?"

I giggle. "Maybe."

"Good to know." Mars drags me forward. "Almost there."

"I seriously doubt my perfect match will be at yoga speed dating," I say under my breath.

"I'm sure there will be some old shoes in the studio."

Mars knows I'm looking for comfort and durability in a relationship, like a perfectly worn-in pair of sneakers. While she's game for stilettos, sparkly cowboy boots, flip-flops, even ten-inch platforms.

"If you're not up for it, you could go hang out at the shelter you love so much, all alone with your unwanted fur-balls," Mars adds.

"They're not unwanted! They just haven't found their forever home. Yet. But point taken-we're doing this."

"Look on the bright side," she says with a cheeky grin, "men in yoga clothes leave little to the imagination."

"Oh. Lovely."

"Remind me again why we're best friends?" Mars teases.

But she knows the answer. Destiny. We met the first day of freshman year at San Francisco State when I walked into a generic dorm room and saw a striking girl with high cheekbones, wild brown curls, and a smiley face T-shirt seated on a red plastic suitcase . . .

"Are you Martha?" I asked.

"I've changed it to Mars. What should we change your name to?"

"It's just Constance. Why would you change your name?"

Mars gave me the hard blink that always punctuates her irreversible decisions, then said, "I know what being Martha is like-a mom who's on her fourth husband and weekends working at the bowling alley spraying disinfectant in smelly shoes. I have no idea what life as Mars will be, but I plan to make it epic." She held up a box of pink hair dye. "Join me?"

I set down my duffel. "Sorry, I've got to run. I'm on scholarship and they're handing out jobs. I want to make sure mine doesn't interfere with the classes I've already chosen."

"Well, just Constance, I'm on scholarship, too, though I haven't considered my schedule yet. What're you studying?"

"Biology. I've lined up a job for the next three summers at an animal hospital. After graduation, I'll spend a year in research then apply to veterinary school."

"Any room for fun in that plan?"

I knew she was teasing me and blushed. "Sure. If there's time."

Mars winked. "There's always time. I'm a chemistry major. You're looking at a future plastic surgeon. But my plan is to balance studying with tons of good times. You only live once."

That night I let her dye one lock of my dark blond hair bright pink while I organized our small closet, but kept my name. We became best friends despite her kicking me out to sleep in the lounge a few times a month so she could have privacy with a momentary crush. I'd never had a close friend before, mostly kept on the periphery of the cliques in high school for fear of being judged, and Mars's steadfast loyalty was a revelation that resulted in a deep trust between us.

In the end we both ditched our professional dreams to play the hand we were dealt but remained best friends despite the fact that she's a firefly everyone wants to catch so they can bask in her light and I'm more of your everyday moth.

Mars, her hair now a shade of purple that complements her light gray eyes, leads me inside the yoga studio, a spare space with white walls and a gleaming wood floor dotted with red yoga mats. Despite the yoga part, a trill of excitement rolls through me. Mars has always pushed me out of my comfort zone. And if my best friend wants my company, I'll do pretty much anything for her even if I'm not suited for it . . . like the time Mars made me sign up for hip-hop class for the physical exercise credits we needed freshman year of college. I couldn't find a beat if it hit me over the head and was mortified for an entire semester but also had never laughed harder.

Five minutes later twenty-six barefoot women stand in a line on the wooden floor facing twenty-six men while our "guide," a lady with long gray hair in a crimson and gold maxidress, walks between the rows and explains how yoga speed dating works.

"Hello, my name is Sara and I'm here to help all of you open yourselves up to new experiences and connections. You're here because swiping based on first impressions and meaningless hookups has left you empty, yearning for deeper bonds."

I glance at Mars and she wrinkles her nose.

"We'll start with a yoga warm-up. Then you'll be given a series of exercises to do with a partner, each lasting five minutes," Sara says. "When I ring this bell, it's time to move down the line to the next person. Each of you has a one-letter name tag and a piece of paper. If you like your interaction and want to know more about your partner, write down their letter. I'll compile your lists at the end of the night and if there are any matches you'll be connected via email."

Sara holds her hands up in a prayer pose. "For your own sake, the next time you meet build upon your initial connection in a meaningful way, open up your soul, and share your life force, your heart energy. Make something beautiful together."

I whisper to Mars, "My heart energy wants to run for the door."

Sara stops in front of me. "Tonight you're being asked to shed the skin that hasn't worked for you; to expose your true self. Are you up for the challenge?"

Her eyes are so earnest I want to support her. "Sure."

"What's the number one thing you want out of a relationship?" Sara asks me.

That's easy. "Someone who...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 059343871X
• ISBN 13: 9780593438718
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 384
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland