Heart's Desire Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Praise

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Chapter Fifty-six

  Chapter Fifty-seven

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-one

  Chapter Sixty-two

  Chapter Sixty-three

  Chapter Sixty-four

  Chapter Sixty-five

  Chapter Sixty-six

  Chapter Sixty-seven

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Chapter Seventy

  Chapter Seventy-one

  Chapter Seventy-two

  Chapter Seventy-three

  Chapter Seventy-four

  Chapter Seventy-five

  Chapter Seventy-six

  Chapter Seventy-seven

  Chapter Seventy-eight

  Heart’s Desire a reader’s guide

  A CONVERSATION WITH LAURA PEDERSEN

  READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

  Full House

  About the Author

  By Laura Pedersen

  Copyright Page

  For all my girlfriends near and far,

  from Copenhagen to California.

  We lose—because we win—

  Gamblers—recollecting which—

  Toss their dice again!

  —EMILY DICKINSON

  Praise for HEART’S DESIRE

  “Pedersen has written a bright, tinkling charm bracelet of a book, ornamented with the odd grace of her quirky, mismatched characters and her own brand of wry, tender humor.”

  —YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH,

  author of In Dahlia’s Wake

  “Prepare to fall in love again because Laura Pedersen is giving you your ‘Heart’s Desire’ by bringing back Hallie Palmer and her entire endearing crew. In a story as wise as it is witty, Pedersen captures the joy of love found, the ache of love lost, and how friends can get you through it all—win or lose.”

  —SARAH BIRD,

  author of The Yokota Officers Club

  “Laura Pedersen’s newest work is as fresh and inviting as iced tea in August. If only I had friends as sweet and quirky and unpredictable as the characters in Heart’s Desire!”

  —AD HUDLER,

  author of Househusband and Southern Living

  BEGINNER’S LUCK

  “Laura Pedersen delivers…If this book hasn’t been made into a screenplay already, it should be soon. Throughout, you can’t help but think how hilarious some of the scenes would play on the big screen.”

  —The Hartford Courant

  “Funny, sweet-natured, and well-crafted…Pedersen has created a wonderful assemblage of…whimsical characters and charm.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “This novel is funny and just quirky enough to become a word-of-mouth favorite…. Pedersen has a knack for capturing tart teenage observations in witty asides, and Hallie’s naiveté, combined with her gambling and numbers savvy, make her a winning protagonist.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A breezy coming-of-age novel with an appealing cast of characters.”

  —Booklist

  “A fresh and funny look at not fitting in.”

  —Seventeen

  LAST CALL

  “This book will make you laugh and cry and like a good friend, you’ll be happy to have made its acquaintance.”

  —LORNA LANDVIK,

  author of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons and Oh My Stars

  “Pedersen writes vividly of characters so interesting, so funny and warm that they defy staying on the page.”

  —The Hartford Courant

  “[M]oving and funny…As she did in Beginner’s Luck, Pedersen teases comic and romantic possibilities from the unlikely collision of strong personalities.”

  —Booklist

  “Laura Pedersen’s wry, bittersweet story charts the unlikely romance between a dying yet still vibrant man and a nun whose faith has abandoned her. While much is lost in this gentle tale, much is gained too, and by the novel’s end, the characters are granted the kind of wisdom and acceptance for which we all continue to long.”

  —YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH,

  author of In Dahlia’s Wake

  “[A] hilariously funny novel that will have readers laughing in the face of despair…. an exquisitely emotional story.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Last Call is a funny tale about human foibles and faults, and a search for life, faith and love. It’s a charmer.”

  —Bookreporter.com

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to Carolyn Fireside for her boundless imagination and to Deirdre Lanning at Ballantine Books for her dedication and sharp editorial eye. Ongoing gratitude to my friend and literary agent Judith Ehrlich for her steadfast support, passion, and creative input. Continuing appreciation for my steady helpmates—Willie, Julie, Aimee, Cecilia, and Lucy.

  Chapter One

  SOMEONE CRACKS OPEN THE BEDROOM DOOR. “HALLIE? ARE YOU in there?”

  Upon hearing the familiar voice I wake slightly and assume that I’m having weird dreams due to excessive body heat. Lying next to me is my boyfriend, Ray. And on the other side is Vanessa. I push down the blanket.

  “Hallie, are you up?” the voice comes again.

  Only now I’m definitely hearing and not dreaming Bernard’s stage whisper. And also smelling the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee with a hint of vanilla. Wakefulness and reality strike simultaneously. “Oh my gosh!” I shout, and raise my head off the pillow. “What time is it? I have an exam at eight!”

  The only thing that’s not surprising is to find Bernard Stockton in the hallway of my apartment. After all, he’s the one who’d saved me when I was sliding down the slippery slope of adolescent rebellion the previous fall by taking me on as a live-in yard person. And now at least
one weekend a month he arrives early and cooks us all a big brunch. Only this isn’t Saturday or Sunday. It’s Wednesday of finals week after my first year of college.

  Bernard opens the door the rest of the way and steps inside the room. “It’s just after seven,” he says. But his voice is hesitant and hoarse, like a record being played at the wrong speed, and I can tell immediately that something is terribly wrong. Normally he would be trilling “Rise and shine!” like Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. Not only that, he must have awoken at five in the morning to make the one-hour drive to Cleveland.

  “What’s the matter—I mean, I’m coming. . . .” I start to climb out from my position as pickle in the middle. “Um, could I meet you in the kitchen?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. How indelicate of me.” His footsteps become faint and then I hear him tackle the mess of dirty pots and pans in the kitchen.

  After stumbling around the minefield of packed duffel bags and piles of dirty clothes for a few minutes I finally find a pair of sweatpants to pull on. No surprise to discover a bunch of unpaid bills and parking tickets scattered beneath them. I’ll be lucky if the repo man isn’t towing my car away at this very moment.

  The whole place smells like old pizza and even older laundry. As I pass the living room the sound of loud snoring comes from behind stacks of books and model cardboard buildings that rise in the middle of the floor to form a miniature skyline. A closer look reveals my roommate Debbie and her boyfriend Daniel asleep on the couch, surrounded by notebooks and empty pizza boxes. It’s a memorial to unfinished group projects everywhere.

  In the kitchen Bernard has lined up his numerous shopping bags on the floor, since there’s no available space on the countertops or table. Those are covered in a collagelike mishmash of art supplies, stained coffee mugs, and overdue book notices. Fortunately, he’s accustomed to the mess. With four busy young women sharing three rooms and all the various friends and boyfriends hanging about, housekeeping rarely rises above the minimum required for pest control. Particularly during exam time, when everyone is cramming for finals and working like crazy to finish papers and art projects.

  I rub the sleep from my eyes. “What’s wrong? Is it Olivia?” Though I’d called Bernard’s sixtyish mother the night before to ask her a grammar question for a paper I was writing, or at least attempting to write, and she’d sounded fine.

  Bernard stops whipping eggs in the shiny metal mixing bowl he brought from home, bows his head, and shuts his eyes as if in pain.

  I stop in my tracks and stare at Bernard, waiting for his answer while growing increasingly worried. For he was, as they said of Odysseus, a man never at a loss. Only in Bernard’s case, when faced with adversity he was rarely without a witty remark and an audacious plan, though it was oftentimes one he’d seen in a movie.

  Finally Bernard exhales for the entire State of Ohio and says, “It’s Gil.”

  Never before have I seen him so grave when referring to his longtime companion. And so of course I assume the worst. “What? Is he dying ?”

  Now that my eyes have become accustomed to the light, I notice how completely wrecked the normally dapper Bernard looks—bags under his eyes, worry lines furrowing his brow, and something I’ve never seen on him before, brown socks with black loafers!

  Bernard turns away from me and dabs at his eyes. “I promised myself I wouldn’t shed any more tears.” He waits a moment to compose himself, takes a deep breath, looks me straight in the eye, and in a trembly voice blurts out, “Gil left me!”

  “You broke up?” I’m truly stunned. I’d have voted my parents more likely to break up than Gil and Bernard, and even the thought of that is impossible.

  “We didn’t break up.” Bernard starts sniffing again. “Gil left me!” He switches to French for greater effect. “Abandonnement.”

  I’m not sure exactly what the difference is between breaking up and one person leaving, but this doesn’t appear to be the right moment to ask. Tears begin to stream down Bernard’s cheeks. I’ve never seen him full-out cry like this before, not even when his father died.

  As I reach to put my hand on his arm, a hiss comes from the stove and he leaps to adjust the heat on his beloved Calphalon non-stick crepe pan. Then he concentrates on making chocolate crepes and this seems to calm him slightly, to my great relief. Hopefully Bernard is overreacting and he and Gil just had an argument that will eventually be resolved. Perhaps it was about Bernard’s antiques taking up the entire garage. In the spring Gil always gets cranky when bucketfuls of pollen land on his car because it has to sit out in the driveway all the time.

  “What happened?” I ask. “Did you two have a fight?”

  “No. I mean, here Gil is, always insisting that he’s the normal one. Then all of a sudden he goes berserk and announces that he doesn’t want to be part of a committed relationship. Gil just hasn’t been the same since his older brother, Clifton, died unexpectedly last month . . . he became more and more distant and then . . . he said . . . it was over. . . .”

  Bernard becomes upset again and uses the dish towel over his shoulder to wipe away his tears. He always brings his own Marshall Field’s British icon dish towels when he comes to cook for us.

  All of my friends love Bernard. He’s like an eccentric uncle who unexpectedly shows up and bakes, helps to decorate, rearranges the furniture, and organizes theme parties. One of my professors had even invited him to guest lecture in a pottery class. Having bought and sold plenty of ceramics for his shop over the past fifteen years, Bernard knows everything about the different schools and designs, and most of all, precisely how much any lump of painted clay you might have lying around your attic is worth. This morning, however, his usual exuberance is nowhere to be found.

  Either the noise from us talking or, more likely, the smell of food and vanilla-flavored coffee awakens the couple on the couch in the living room and we hear them carefully making their way toward the kitchen. Design projects in various states of completion are everywhere, transforming the path into an obstacle course.

  Bernard says to me, “I can’t have anyone seeing me so out of sorts. Now, don’t breathe a word to them about this calamity, all right?”

  “Mum’s the word,” I reply. Bernard does indeed have a reputation for inexhaustible zest and witty remarks to protect.

  He takes a deep breath, straightens up, and lifts his head high. “I’m channeling Susan Hayward in Valley of the Dolls when, after having her wig ripped off, she announces with great dignity, ‘I’ll go out the way I came in.’ ”

  “I’m sure that’s exactly what nine out of ten therapists would recommend,” I agree wholeheartedly with his strategy.

  Chapter Two

  DEBBIE AND DANIEL APPEAR BLEARY-EYED IN THE ARCHWAY. Daniel is bare-chested, wearing only jeans that hang low on his waist, suggesting an absence of underwear, and Debbie has a mint-green sheet wrapped around her, Statue of Liberty style. I’d rather we were all exhausted from partying, like at the beginning of the semester, but everyone is beat as a result of hitting the books hard all week.

  “Hey,” they say sleepily, but in unison.

  Debbie is accustomed to Bernard arriving early and unexpectedly, though usually on weekends rather than school days. And Daniel is around often enough to have met Bernard a few times as well. They also know that he’s very generous with his cooking. Bernard always claims that he’s trying out new recipes and needs tasters, as if we’re all doing him a huge favor by eating a five-course breakfast.

  “Something smells terrific,” says Daniel, hungrily eyeing the platter that now contains three crepes surrounded by sliced bananas and dusted with powdered sugar.

  “Come on now, I know that everyone is tired and hungry as a result of all these horrible tests!” With forced cheer Bernard digs into his shopping bags and starts taking out cartons of cream, fruit salad, and fresh orange juice.

  “Your eyes are all red,” Debbie says to Bernard. “Are you okay?”

  Bernard
looks at me searchingly.

  “He was just chopping onions,” I quickly supply a plausible explanation.

  “It’s no use,” says Bernard and begins to weep again. “Gil left me and I’m just a wreck!”

  Bluffing was never his great strength. At least not like blanching. Bernard crumples into the nearest chair and cradles his face in his hands.

  It so happens that Debbie’s mother is a rapid-cycling bipolar and as a result she’s excellent at dealing with unexpected mood swings. Debbie calmly pours Bernard a mug of the fresh coffee and pulls a chair up right next to his. “That’s terrible!” She places her arm around him. “Tell us all about it.”

  “Oh, no. You have enough to worry about with exams.” Bernard takes a deep breath and immediately begins, “Gil’s older brother died a little over a month ago. They weren’t on speaking terms because the family had disowned Gil when he came out of the closet. . . .”

  Just then I notice the clock on the microwave says a quarter to eight. My exam in motion graphics starts in exactly fifteen minutes. Leaping up from the table I say to Bernard, “I’ll be back in two hours. Can you stay that long?”

  “Stay? I can’t go home!” He waves the end of the dish towel with the Buckingham Palace guard wearing the big black furry hat at me. “I’ve driven mother insane the past two weeks with all my keening and wailing. She says that if I can’t let go then I need to see a psychiatrist before she’ll let me back in. And to make matters worse, she keeps reminding me that Shaw’s Pygmalion didn’t have a happy ending—the Americans added it when the play was made into the musical My Fair Lady.”

  Leaving Bernard at the kitchen table I hurry off to take a quick shower. As much as I love Bernard, his timing couldn’t be worse. Not only must I do well on this test, since my grades in the class up until now haven’t been that good, but I need to stop at Career Services and figure out how to make some serious money this summer or else I’m going to have to drop out and work full-time for a year. I hated high school so much that I quit at the beginning of junior year, but college is everything that high school wasn’t, and I really want to finish and earn a degree. As it is, I’m likely to graduate a hundred grand in debt, a number considerably higher than the starting salary of the graphic designer I’m paying a fortune to become.