Eddie nodded as though he had expected the question.
“I have this weird ability to see into the future and today it’s become a curse,” he said, “When all was still going well and we were having a wonderful time, I saw her death today. This morning, I thought we were going to cheat fate and prove my vision wrong. As you can see, today is already trying to fulfill what I envisioned.”
“Are you serious?” Tamara inserted from the stairwell, “You really saw this ahead of time?”
He nodded sadly.
“How do you know that you didn’t already prevent it? Maybe she was supposed to have been killed by the gunshot,” Edna asked.
“There were two other parts of the prophecy. She dies in Silver Falls and she dies alongside her agent Lowell Barnes. Neither of those opportunities have presented themselves. Right now, I’m just trying to keep her from Silver Falls,” Eddie said.
* * * *
“It looks beautiful,” Brooksie said, holding her arms out in front of the mirror, “I look almost normal.”
“You’re very beautiful, Miss Webb,” Tamara said, “You’re always beautiful.”
Brooksie finally smiled and then turned to Tamara.
“And you’re beautiful, too. You can do a lot with that beauty,” Brooksie said.
The lady who couldn’t have been much younger than Brooksie just humbly shook her head as she looked in the mirror.
“Seriously. What you have is a powerful force. You can use it to attract that special man, or maybe you can get paid to model clothing for Macy’s. You can even become a famous movie star,” Brooksie said, “But whatever you do with that beauty, don’t let anyone have you exploit it in a demeaning way. That Macy’s model looks like a million bucks in that elegant gown with her stylish hair and her perfect smile. But have that same lady pose without any clothing at all, and she looks like a five-dollar hooker.”
“Is that what they wanted from you?” she asked.
Brooksie nodded.
“And you took a bullet because of it?” Tamara asked.
Brooksie shrugged.
“You don’t look like a million bucks. You look like two million bucks, Miss Webb.”
A tear stung the corner of her eye she inhaled a shaky breath. Edward appeared at the doorway of Tamara’s bedroom where they had been talking.
“I would never guess that you jumped off a moving train today, ran through miles of woods and got shot,” Edward said, “How do you do it?”
“I had a little help,” she replied, nodding to Tamara.
Tamara gave a humble shrug.
“What did you say to Ben when you called him?” he asked.
“I told him that Mr. Nice Guy shot me and that he’s headed his way. I think he realizes how stupid he was for believing him,” she said.
“What’s he going to do?”
“I didn’t really understand. He talked in circles and sounded all weird. Then he told me he needed to meet with me. But he understood if I couldn’t trust him, so he suggested we meet in a public place like Bethel Lake Park,” she said.
“No! Absolutely not!” Eddie blurted, “That’s Silver Falls.”
“I have to, Edward. Ben is going to get something legal drawn up to get me out of my contract with Lowell Barnes. He did some searching and discovered that there’s a clause in acting contracts – clause #117.03, believe it or not – that gets-”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? It was the same number he told me to use if…”
She paused as her mouth fell to the floor. She stared at Edward as she felt the blood drain from her face. How could she have been so stupid?
“If you came back and brought trouble with you,” he finished her sentence, “He was giving you a hint that he was in trouble even while you had him on the phone.”
“Lowell was probably standing right there with a gun. Ben was telling me to come to the park because Lowell told him to say that. But then he tossed in that number to tell me it was a set-up. He… he wants me to run away,” she said, bursting out in tears.
“Did he give you a time?” he asked.
“We need to call the police,” Tamara interrupted.
“No, Tamara. We can’t get them involved,” Brooksie said, turning back to Edward, “I wasn’t given a time, but he mentioned that he actually has park duty tonight and he wanted me to find him at the carousel. We have to go help him.”
“No!” Edward shouted a little too loudly, “Sorry, but this is all playing out according to that prophecy. Absolutely not, Brooksie.”
“He’s my brother and there’s a gun to his head,” she said, “And it’s all my fault.”
Edward reached out and grabbed Brooksie by the shoulders.
“It’s his own fault. Ben is the reason Lowell found you in the first place and he’s the reason you were put on that train. All of this is his fault,” Eddie said, “If you go there, you and Lowell will be together in Silver Falls on July 2nd.”
She stared into his eyes as her own filled with tears. She was so confused at the moment.
“We have to, Edward. But you can be there to help me. We know what the future has in store, so we can prevent it. You’re my hero, Edward. You’ve been my hero all day long and you’re going to be my hero tonight. You will because you have to be,” she said, “Do you remember one of the first things I ever spoke to you? I said that if I say your name is Edward, then it’s Edward. And what did you say?”
He stared at the strong woman he saw on that day beside the White Lightning.
“Then Edward it is,” he replied with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“If I say you will be my hero, then you’re going to be my hero.”
She had the same firm, unwavering look in her eyes that she had that day. There was no smile on her face and no room in those words for argument.
“Then a hero I will be,” he said.
* * * *
He stared down at the book wondering just how things got so twisted up. Edna was currently – and thankfully – trying to talk some sense into Brooksie while Eddie finally resigned himself from the argument. He sat down on the front porch step and grabbed for the only portion of sanity that he could locate. For now, that sanity was found in the little black book.
Tamara rushed past him a few minutes ago to petition the neighbor down the road for the use of their Ford. She was perched and ready to join the battle against Lowell if necessary.
He glanced back down and skimmed the life of Spencer. In spite of his efforts, he found his attention stuck on the present or the near future. His couldn’t remove his attention from Brooksie and Lowell.
“What are you doing?” Brooksie startled him from behind, “You can’t skip ahead without me.”
He clamped the book closed and looked up at the woman behind him.
“How can you think of reading at a time like this?” he asked.
She laughed and then sat down beside him.
“How can you?” she asked, “Now you’re going to have to catch me up. Give me the abbreviated version.”
“Are you kidding? We’re running off into battle and you’re acting totally-”
“I’m acting totally fine. As I said, you are going to be my hero. Until Tamara returns, we can only sit here in fear or we can wait in peace,” she said, tapping the book in his hand, “Now fill me in. You must have read twenty pages!”
He shook his head and sighed. She tapped the book again.
“Alright. The abbreviated version is like this. They spend the day at the fair while pretty much falling in love before returning again to her neighborhood. But an unexpected kiss turns into an argument that gets Francesca all defensive again. She just sent him packing.”
“Why?” she asked.
“They got too close again. She doesn’t like to be vulnerable, but this time, you can tell that he made some serious headway. I think she likes him sincerely now, but she refuses to admit it,
” he replied.
“You shouldn’t have read without me,” she said, nudging him with her shoulder.
“I’ll go back,” he said, flipping through the pages.
“No. It looks like we’re almost to the end and I want to hear the ‘happily ever after’,” she said, “Read it to me before Tamara returns.”
He nodded and looked down at the page he had been on.
The nights passed into days as Spencer roamed the streets of New York. He stayed away from the bar and the apartment on 49th Street. As a mere mortal, he had finally run out of ammunition. He failed the Lord, yet for some reason, the Lord didn’t return Spencer to the coal mine.
Spencer prayed many prayers over the next few days requesting the Lord to release him from the project, but no matter how he prayed, he was drawn back to that verse in Song of Songs - For love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.
Love is as strong as death and its jealousy is as unyielding as the grave. The Lord wasn’t going to yield because his love was as strong as death. Death was insurmountable and unavoidable. Even the rich cannot get past that obstacle. The rivers, no matter how powerful, cannot wash it away. Spencer was not relieved of his duties even for a moment. The Lord wasn’t going to yield.
“I’m sorry, God,” Spencer said, waving for a cab, “I lost sight of your goal and was only focused on my pain. From this point forward, I will do it solely for you.”
The cab dropped him off at the curb in front of her apartment. It was almost midnight, but he didn’t care. He rushed into the lobby and darted up the stairs. He didn’t want to wait for the elevator. Finally at the fourth floor, he located her door and twisted the knob. It was unlocked. He flung it open and rushed in.
“Francie?” he hollered, “Francie, we need to talk.”
He opened her bedroom door, figuring perhaps that she had fallen asleep already. That was when his heart exploded once and for all. She was in bed with a long-haired, muscular man he had never seen before.
“Spencer?”
He closed the door and rushed into the living room. The tears were streaming down his face as he glanced around the room. What was he looking for? He wasn’t sure.
“Spencer – dear Lord, Spencer. I thought you had left me forever.”
He turned and glared at the woman wrapped in a bathrobe. She blurred behind the tears. He turned and rushed from the apartment. He dashed for the stairs and took them three at a time.
“Lord, I can’t do it. I can’t separate my own feelings. I loved her, Lord! I – not you – I loved her! You called the wrong person for sure. I’ve failed both of us miserably,” he shouted to the ceiling as he opened the lobby door.
He ran for the door leading out to the sidewalk. Outside of the building, he scanned the road for thecarriage that dropped him off. He needed a cab. One had just pulled away from the bar down the street. He simply needed to get away as soon as possible. He ran across the street and turned to look at her apartment building one last time.
“I’m so sorry, Jesus,” he cried.
He could hear a couple horses approaching rapidly from the north. Francie burst from the lobby door and glanced down the sidewalk in both directions. Then she caught sight of him standing across the street. She held her robe closed and then ran after him before he had a chance to disappear.
The horses had no time to react when she dashed out into the road directly in front of them. Spencer barely had the time to form the word “No” on his lips. Francie was knocked over as one of the horses reared up and tried to avoid the collision. Both horses and the carriage couldn’t stop in time.
Spencer screamed as he dashed for the woman who was surely dead behind the carriage. She lay sprawled like a worthless, trampled rag doll. The passenger was already out of the buggy with his hand pressed over his mouth staring down at the partially naked woman on the road.
“Francie,” Spencer cried, drawing her bathrobe closed.
He turned her face to his. There were two large scrapes along her cheek and her chin. She fluttered her eyes open.
“S-Spencer? Don’t leave me,” she whispered, “I’m sorry. C-come back t-to the apartment… I’m ready t-to settle down. I’m ready to n-nail the d-door shut.”
He could already see that her shoulder was swollen and growing painfully larger each second. He was the cause of all this damage.
“I’ll do that,” he replied, kissing her on the lips.
“I-I don’t think I’m staying. It hurts…” she said with a cough, “It hurts too bad. Do you think Jesus is holding me like you t-told me?”
“If you let him, Francie. Do you want him to? He loves you and he wants to,” he replied, “He’s the one who sent me to tell you that.”
She stared at him for a moment as people started gathering around.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Do you believe he’s the Son of God?” he asked her, “Do you believe he loves you passionately?”
“Yes I do,” she said with a smile, “It hurts to talk, Spencer. I-I think I’ll go to s-sleep.”
“Wait, Francie,” he said.
“What now?”
He laughed as she looked up at him again.
“Would you have accepted Jesus anyway?” he asked.
“I-I already did… w-when I begged him to bring you back to me yesterday. I prayed for a l-long time, but…look how I keep messing up. I-I’m such a failure.”
“No you’re not, Francie. Not at all. You succeeded in the most important thing of all – you succeeded in death, which means you succeeded in eternal life.”
He grasped her hand as she smiled at him. Then she released her last breath.
The hospital sent a carriage, but it was too late. They took her away as Spencer stood on the sidewalk crying. Thanks to his own stupidity, she would never live to be an old woman as had been originally intended. He was the cause of her early death. He turned and started toward the alley between the buildings.
That was when the world changed before his eyes. He was now finally standing in the coal mine again.
The coin was flipping through the air now. Seven seconds was all he had. Not enough time to run or even to shout a fair word of warning. Seven seconds. He watched the coin flip through the air again as a tremor came from above them. The clock wouldn’t be stopping this time.
It was loud, dark, and frightening - but then there was peace. He shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them only to find himself face to face with that dark-skinned man with the curly hair.
“Well done – WELL DONE!” he simply said, reaching out his hand.
Spencer smiled and shook the Lord’s hand vigorously.
“What, no dropping to the floor like last time?” Jesus asked.
“You’re my friend, Lord,” he replied, “A wonderful and amazing friend.”
“Yes I am,” he said, “Someone has been waiting up here for you for a long, long time. But she waited faithfully, telling all the others that she was already taken,” Jesus whispered, nodding his head behind him.
There, standing in all the shimmering glory of that ancient painting was the beautiful Francesca Bride. She held her arms open as she rushed after him. He captured her in his arms and spun her, laughing wildly.
“It took you long enough, my fair beau,” she shouted.
“But think of how much longer we have now!” he replied, “You succeeded!”
“Eternity won’t be long enough, but I’m sure we can make do.”
The End
“No!” Brooksie growled, “Where’s the ‘happily ever after’?”
“What do you mean? That was the happiest ‘ever after’ you could ever have,” he replied, “They have eternity. He helped to rescue her soul.”
“But… but she died anyway. She died even so
oner than she would have. What if…” she pondered aloud, “What if I’m to die today? Will that be a happy ending?”
He closed the book and drew her to him.
“No, it wouldn’t be,” he replied, “It would be absolutely horrible for me. But what if we were guaranteed eternity?”
She shook her head and looked at the ground. A black Model A was pulling up to the house as she struggled to comprehend the ending of the story.
“If something does happen… will you look for me in heaven. Will you even arrive there yourself someday?” she asked, “I mean, I already believe Jesus is the Son of God and I’ve always loved him, but… but I don’t want to wait around for fifty years if you’re not coming.”
“I won’t let you die today, Brooksie. I won’t-”
“But just in case!” she blurted, “I need to know that I won’t be waiting for nothing.”
He looked at the ground and then glanced up at Tamara as she approached.
“Yes, I think I’ve always believed Jesus was the Son of God. And yes, I’m quite sure that I love him.”
She tucked her head by his neck and held him to her.
“Then just in case, I want you to know that I’ll be waiting and I expect to see you in the far future,” she said.
* * * *
Did she realize just how impossible it would be for him to be her hero? She had a way about her that made him want to meet her expectations, no matter how ridiculous those expectations were. Now, as he held her hand in the back of the Ford Model A, he wondered just how bulletproof she thought he was.
Saving Brooksie Page 16
