by Lisa Moore
It finally dawned on me. I must say my understanding of women and their emotional needs is limited at best, since I have shielded myself from human interaction for the better part of my life. But it seemed that Ginny was just a young girl looking for a good time over winter break. Her options have just shrunk down to zero and she feels left out. I get it, nothing more sinister than jealousy, of wanting what the rest of us seem to have. It’s the perennial conflict. People always want what the next guy has. The proverbial saying of the grass is always greener in your neighbor’s yard. I figured I could help Ginny.
As destiny seemed to be at play, Ginny put her hand on my shoulder as she hopped down from the wall. I managed to grab her hand as her body slid into place next to me on the walk. “Ginny, don’t’ worry about the test, and don’t worry about the trip. You’re going to do great on the test and the trip will be an exciting adventure. You will have fun and be a positive part of the experience” As my gaze locked with hers and she listened to my voice I could see her pupils dilate as she was drawn into my influence. My influencing Ginny a second time bothered me a bit. I really don’t like manipulating people. It’s wrong and deceitful, even if intentions are good. It is the main reason why I chose solitude for so long. Avoidance was so much easier than the lies and deceit that breed like a virus.
It has been my usual custom, something I learned during my time with Han, to adopt an uninviting persona; one that is just cordial enough to get by in necessary social interactions but ominous enough to preclude any interest in socializing. Basically I give a glimpse of the predator, not too much, but enough to leave the lingering sense of unease. It prevents people from getting close if they are innately afraid of you. But now I have let down that shield and have started several social interactions, first Lily, then by default Paul, and now Ginny. The more social interactions I have with a person, the longer they know me, the greater chance of them seeing clues to my different nature. I am living dangerously right now, I feel almost reckless, so unaccustomed to having any long term or repeated relationship with any typical human since my transition.
“Let’s go ace this test!” Ginny said excitedly as I let go of her hand and we walked into the lecture hall joining the several other students that had started to go in ahead of us. I moved to my customary seat and Ginny, smiling happily, moved to hers. Lily entered the room at the bottom of the lecture hall and as usual I was rewarded with a glorious smile as her eyes found mine. The lecture hall was rapidly filling up as the clock approached 8:00am. Lily instructed the class to take out the index cards allowed for this exam, and a pen, and remove all other items and place them under the seat. She reminded everyone of their responsibility for academic integrity, and that cheating would result in a zero and notification to the dean. At 8:00am on the dot, she passed out the exams, informed everyone that there was to be no more talking from this point on, and she wished us luck. Lily wrote the test start time on the board and the test end time underneath that. We had an hour and a half to complete the exam.
I took my time completing the exam. I finished the multiple choice and true false section fairly quickly. There were several humorous questions, photos and captions in the exam. A slight giggle could be heard intermittently as people came upon them. The second part of the test was short answer. I found the questions thought provoking and several required us to choose a side of a particular debatable topic and give our argument and support for which ever side we chose. The last question was an essay. In 500 words or less give a detailed argument supporting or refuting any one myth, monster or mystery we discussed in class. Several other directions outlined the parameters of the essay.
I was done with the entire exam in 40 minutes. I took 15 more minutes rechecking my work and stood up at five minutes to nine and walked up to Lily with my exam. Several astonished faces turned my way, unable to conceive how I could be finished. Lily looked a little surprised to see me done so soon. As I handed her my exam I said, “Good test, factual, analytical, humorous, it had it all. See you later.” I added a barely audible I love you, and left the lecture hall. I would see Lily at her house later, now I will visit Charles’ shop in town and afterwards address my need to feed.
Chapter 26
A Strange Gift and an Impulsive Purchase
I took the short ride into town from campus and parked my truck in front of the CVS on Main Street. I walked the short distance up the block to Charles’ antique shop and tried to enter the shop. The door was locked, and that was when I noticed two things. The interior lights were off and a sign in the window said “For Sale—call 617-555-5559” I took out my cell phone and dialed the number on the sign. A man answered, “Good morning, Anderson Realty, this is Sal speaking, how can I help you?” “Hello my name is Maximillian VanderCreek and I am calling to inquire about the antique shop on Main Street.” “Ah Mr. VanderCreek I have been expecting your call. I have a package for you. If you would meet me at my office I can give it to you and explain things.”
“Expecting my call? I’m not sure I follow you Sir. I was calling to see if I could get in touch with Charles, the owner of the antique shop?” I replied. “Yes, well as I said Mr. VanderCreek, perhaps you could come to my office and I can fill you in there.” “Where is your office Mr… ?” “It’s Anderson but please, call me Sal. I am at 320 Market Street, just around the corner from the antique shop. When are you available to stop by?” “I’ll be right over if that is convenient for you. I am at the antique shop now.” I replied. “Very well then, I shall see you shortly Mr. VanderCreek.”
I walked over to 320 Market Street. One end of Market Street has a market as its name implies, along with a coin laundry mat, a walk in clinic, and a shoe repair shop. The rest of Market Street is residential. Several giant old homes have been subdivided into apartments. The Market Street apartments are highly sought after by upperclassmen, within stumbling distance from “Punch Drunk Alley”, the name give by the college students to the segment of River Street accessed off of Market. There are 12 drinking establishments along this strip of street but they are not for the uninitiated. This is the “townie” part of town. These bars cater to the hard working men and woman who built this town and they don’t welcome the college visitors. These are not college bars. Only a select number of upper classmen dare to drink in any of the dives on Punch Drunk Alley. On most weekends at least one fist fight between a “townie” and a foolish college student erupts out onto the street.
The Oak Leaf Pub is about the closest thing to welcoming, as you will see if you’re a college student on Punch Drunk Alley. You won’t be asked to leave out right, but order any thing other than a beer or straight shot and you may be thrown out on your ass. They have a Pizza Place on the second floor that is open after the bars close. Many a drunken student will stumble upstairs for a late night snack, before stumbling back home. A sign in the window mockingly states, “Proud sponsor of the freshmen 15”, a reference to the average weight gained by a freshmen in their first year of college. Anderson’s Realty is at the end of Market Street just before River Street. It looks like any other house at the end of the block, save for the small shingle hanging from its mail post. I entered the door marked office, and was greeted by an older woman whom I assumed was the receptionist. She looked at me through red puffy eyes and gave me a barely audible greeting as I entered. A man in his mid 50’s came out from the only other visible office and introduced himself as Sal.
“You must be Mr. VanderCreek, I’m Sal Anderson. My Father Sal senior started this business 35 years ago, I have worked here most of my life and now run the business. I hope you’ll forgive my receptionist. It has been a hard day for all of us. Why don’t we go into my office to talk?” Once we were settled in his office, Sal continued, “You see Mr. VanderCreek, my family has known Charles forever, it seems. My parents, Charles, and his wife Lilly were close friends. Mr. VanderCreek, I do not know any way to tell you this other than, Charles is dead
.” Dead. The word hung in the air like vapor, the reason for the receptionists red eyes now evident. “May I ask how?” I inquired gently, for I could now recognize the sadness in Sal’s eyes too. “It appears he died in his sleep, however, he was acting rather strangely on Sunday evening when he came in to talk with me.”
“On Sunday, I was in his shop buying a Christmas gift for my girlfriend’s mother. He seemed fine and in good spirits though I must say he seemed to be talking to his wife as if she were there having a conversation with him. The first time I was in his shop a few months back, I purchased a necklace from him for my girlfriend. As I recall he seemed to talk to her then as well. I thought he was a kind, if not a bit eccentric, gentlemen. I enjoyed talking with him. He had interesting stories to share. When you say he was acting strangely what do you mean, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, Mr. VanderCreek, it had been a while, since I had talked with Charles. And as you mentioned he did seem to have conversations with his dead wife, but that is something he has done since her death. What was strange was how excited he seemed. He came storming into my office Sunday evening, around 5:00pm. We were just getting ready to lock up when he came in. He was beaming from ear to ear, saying something about “It’s finally done, it’s finally done!” When I asked him what was done he waved off my question and said “Sal Junior, we have work to do.” When I asked him what was going on he said he had a job for me.
Charles asked me to do three things for him, first he asked that I witness him sign a revised will and have Jackie, my receptionist notarize it for him. He requested I hold onto the will in my office safe for him since he had no living family members. He then told me to list his shop for sale, along with the contents, stating his responsibilities were complete. I am not sure what he meant by that. Lastly, he asked me to hold onto this package for you. And this is the strangest part; he said to tell you “Lilly insisted that you will need these.”
After, completing his requests I asked Charles again what was going on. Why did he want to sell his shop so suddenly? What was he going to do? His reply seemed to have a different meaning to me at the time, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say. He told me he “was embarking on a great journey, one he had been waiting to take for a long time.” I assumed he was going to travel, and asked him when he was leaving. He told me he would leave that night. It all seemed peculiar to me but Charles seemed so happy and excited I didn’t question his actions. I told him that I would do as he asked, that I would put a for sale sign in the window on Monday. I mentioned we could handle the sale of the shop when he returned. He smiled at me and said I have everything I need in the signed and notarized documents, he gave me a hug and went home to the apartment he has over the antique shop.
I went to the shop early this morning to put the sign in the window. I noticed his apartment door was open and I went up to talk to him, and that was when I found him. He was sitting in his easy chair with a picture of Lilly in his hands, a smile on his lips as his vacant eyes continued to stare down at his wife, he was gone. I called the police and they came by there a few hours ago and took him away.”
I sat in stunned silence, trying to absorb the reality of what I just heard. One thought continued to cycle through my mind, Charles’ whispered words to his Lilly when we left his shop “Good bye my love, until I am at your side again.”
Several minutes passed as I processed what Sal just told me. “I am sorry Sal, for the loss of your friend. I only had the pleasure of meeting with him twice, but I enjoyed his company greatly.” Sal replied, “Well I guess you made an impression on him, he left this for you.” I took the small sealed package from Sal, thanked him, expressed my sincere regrets for his loss once again, and left him. I walked slowly back to my car, analyzing the information that I knew.
Charles was dead. The ominous feeling I had as I left his shop yesterday now seemed prophetic. He seemed at last to be back with his Lilly. I got in my truck and drove home to my farm, the unopened package sitting on the seat beside me. “Lilly insisted that I would need these” was what Sal said Charles had told him. I had a feeling I knew what was in the package. I kept replaying in my head the two encounters that I had with Charles. I had undeniably felt some kind of energy, a presence, when I had been to see him on both occasions. The flickering lights, the sensation of a cold breeze moving around me in the shop, I know I felt something, it was real. Just what it was, has me rethinking my own ideas of a soul perhaps, and what happens when someone dies.
I have wrestled with the concept of a soul for some time and have always believed humans, like all life, must follow the same laws of science. I know matter and energy can not be created or destroyed only changed. Humans are another part of the energy cycle. At death the energy contained in a living thing just doesn’t disappear. I have always felt it had to go somewhere. If the soul is the energy of life, as I theorize, could it be possible Lilly’s soul stayed close to Charles, for so many years, because of the responsibility of the Evening Star? If not a soul, certainly some type of presence, I felt it myself. It seemed I had a lot more questions than answers.
I got back to my farm and set to task. First, I called the lawyer whom I have used for several real estate deals over the past 35 years. He has arranged for the purchases of several of my homes including the farm. By making purchases through him I am able to stay anonymous throughout the transaction. I dialed his number, a secretary answered, “Stanford and Brown this is Linda. How may I direct your call?” “Hello Linda. This is Maximillian VanderCreek, is Jack in? Yes, I’ll hold, Thanks.” I was not on hold long when a familiar voice came on the line. “Maximillian, it has been a long time, how are you?” “I’m good Jack, how have you been? It has been over 10 years since I have spoken to you. I hope life has been treating you well.” “I have had a busy and fruitful decade Max. I have been married and divorced twice, and have my eye on the future Mrs. Brown as we speak. Thank goodness I’m an excellent lawyer; rock solid pre-nups have saved me a fortune. What can I do for you at this time Max?”
“Jack, I would like you to make another real estate purchase for me. This one requires the contents to be catalogued, assessed for value, and stored. After the purchase I would like you to arrange for the space to be rented. It is a commercial space with an attached apartment above the store front. It’s a college town. They could use a nice bookstore, something other than a bar if possible. I will be heading out on a trip and unavailable for a few weeks. I will fax over the details for the purchase. Please make a generous offer; the contents of the shop are important to me. As always Jack I appreciate the work you do for me. I’ll talk to you soon.” “No problem Max, you pay me very well. I will get on the purchase today and give you a call in a few weeks, have a nice trip.”
My first order of business taken care of, I sat down at my kitchen table with Charles’ package in hand. As I sit turning the package I am hesitant to open it. There is no logical reason to have trepidations about the contents. It’s the meaning of them that I worry about. How has such a random act as buying a necklace for Lily, come to play such a pivotal role in our lives? I slowly open the package. Inside there is a blue velvet jewelry pouch and a hand written letter. The letter, dated Sunday December 13, 2009 is as follows:
Dear Mr. VanderCreek,
I first want to thank you. It was clear from the moment I met you several months back that you understand the depths of love one can feel for his betrothed. By being that man, by being able to open your heart to love your Lily so completely, you have opened a pathway for a powerful force. That was so clearly evident from the first minute you walked into my shop. It was as if you had an aura around you. It was the first time Lilly ever let her presence be felt by anyone other than me, and that told me something. Do you remember the flickering light?
That fateful day you walked into my shop, and it was fate make no mistake of that, it set a course of actions that would irrevocably chang
e three lives. Fate has brought us together. You and Lily will now take up the thread that connects us. Your combined force is exceptionally strong, far more powerful that it was with Lilly and I. Your lives will now be shaped by that power and guided by the Evening Star. I wish I had more time to explain things to you, to learn what is special about both of you and what amplifies the collective strength of your force. But my Lilly has assured me your path is good and that you and your Lily’s souls are bound to each other.
We agreed that your next logical step should be to marry the woman of your destiny. By the time you read this letter you would have figured that out. Please accept this gift from us, to you and Lily, we hope you enjoy a long and love filled life together. I am sure you have many questions, answers will come in time. Look to the Evening Star to guide you, and remember how powerful love is. For now, know that you are on the right path, and that together you and Lily will forge a dynamic union. My one fear is for how your Lily will react to all of this. I fear she will be saddened and confused by my sudden passing, for when you read this I will be gone.
Please know, both of you, that as I sit here writing this to you I am filled with more joy than I have felt in over 30 years. I know that tonight Lilly will come for me, she will guide my passing and we shall be reunited, to spend eternity together at last. Good bye to you both, perhaps we will meet again in the afterlife.
