Come Spring

Nathan stole Deirdre’s heart in the fifth grade, the day he and Deirdre played the organ together in her uncle Leo’s church. Nathan knows how Deidre wants to be a writer, go to college and move to the big city, away from Carroll Corners, Michigan and all the quirky rules that small town Catholic kids are supposed to follow, even if they don’t make any sense. Nathan also understands that Deirdre’s Uncle Leo and Leo's assistant Abigail are her parents, but not really, and since Deidre was orphaned as a baby when her dad died from drinking and her mother took off for parts unknown. Nathan encourages Deirdre to be herself, even if other kids in town think Deirdre is weird, and besides Deirdre’s best friend Liza. Plus, as a talented musician, Nathan has big dreams, too. Deirdre’s connection with Nathan becomes all too real just as Melanie arrives in town to destroy it. When Nathan and Melanie begin another kind of love affair, Nathan develops a problem with alcohol that no one in town seems to care anything about, including Uncle Leo who is too distracted by his own problems. After Deirdre gathers important clues about her father’s tragic death, she thinks she might save Nathan from a similar fate. But will she be too late?

Liz Rohan is a writing professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She lives in the Detroit suburbs with her family.