by Lori Lapekes
She banged her fist on the steering wheel, tears blinding her eyes. “That should be me with Daniel,” she sobbed to no one in particular. “He’s too good for some skinny little bookworm who slugs like a boy!”
She folded her arms, the insides of her cheeks growing hot with humiliation. This wouldn’t go on. No one had ever been able to embarrass Beth Shaker this badly and get away with it! Catherine wouldn’t have Daniel to herself much longer. Beth’s insinuations about herself and Daniel would be truth before long. Daniel would be hers one day soon. And she now knew just how to make it happen.
****
Catherine stepped back through the door just in time to see Joanne and Penny scurry back into the kitchen like cockroaches hiding from light.
“I know you were watching us,” Catherine called, “I saw your nosy little faces pressed against the window.”
Both roommates slunk from the kitchen, their heads hung with sheepish guilt, but there were excited smiles on their faces.
“Thanks for not coming out when we fell through the rail a few minutes ago.” Catherine said.
Joanne’s eyes widened, she lifted her head. “We almost did…then we heard you two laughing. How long has Daniel been back? Where had he been? Does Joey know he’s in town, yet?”
“Yeah,” Penny interrupted, “And why on Earth did he give you a Mr. Potato Head?”
Chapter Twenty-One
The two nurses’ aides peered nervously through room number sixty-seven’s open door.
“You take her blood pressure today,” the curly haired brunette said to her associate, “I did it yesterday.”
Her friend, a pale blonde, barely eighteen years old, tensed. “Okay… but you have to feed her lunch, then. I can’t stand how she looks at me!”
“Oh come on, the doctors say she can’t see.”
“I don’t care. She gives me the creeps. I wish she had never come to this nursing home.”
“I know. But they say she’s harmless. The stroke left her with about as much sense as a three year old.”
“Yeah, but a three-year old what?”
“Relax. She’s just an old lady.”
“She’s a witch. Witch Hazel.”
“That’s just little kids’ stories.”
“Have you ever heard her say her name? She sounds like an android. Her voice squeaks when she says ‘Hoof’stryver. She’s not normal.
“She never was normal. She always talked like that.”
“I still wish she wasn’t here. She gives me the creeps.”
The brunette sighed, shaking her head, handing over the blood pressure instruments. Her voice was ominous.
“Don’t worry. If what they say is correct, she doesn’t have much time anyway. It’s only a matter of days now.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daniel ran his fingers across the smooth mother-of-pearl inlay on his acoustic guitar, the cherished, Roger McGuinn twelve-string Rickenbacker he’d had since he was a teenager. Sadness squeezed his heart.
Years ago he’d played “Puff the Magic Dragon” on this guitar for Julia.
With a deep breath, he tucked the instrument under his arm, straightened, and began to finger pick. He tried to finger pick.
He grimaced. His weakened fingers would not do what muscle memory demanded they do. The notes were coming out all wrong, ghastly to his trained ear. He pressed his eyes shut and concentrated. Strained to manipulate the strings. Concentrated until it hurt, played a few notes, then tried again. And again.
Please God, he had to make this work. He had to record one last song. For Catherine. The doctors warned he couldn’t fight the atrophy in his fingers. But with a lot of luck, he might pull through one more song, in essence, fake it. That’s how they’d put it. He would do better than that. He would practice until his fingertips bled if he had to. He would not give up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The air was heady with the scent of lilacs as Catherine and Daniel strolled casually down the silent, streetlight-dappled sidewalk where they had first met. They said little. It was not necessary.
Turning a corner, Daniel pointed out the tree Catherine had once hidden behind. “Remember that?”
Catherine laughed. “I can still feel the cold spot where I fell in the snow when I tried to run from you. Thank goodness I slipped.”
“I slipped, too.” Daniel laughed, rubbing his rear from the memory. “And I can still feel those snowballs you hurled at me like some furious Cy Young reincarnation.”
Catherine stepped toward the tree and placed her hand across the rough bark, remembering how freezing cold it had felt not so long ago. “Who’s Cy Young?”
“A famous pitcher,” Daniel said, next to her now. “They give pitching awards in his name.”
Catherine looked at him with surprise. “I never realized you like baseball.”
Daniel shrugged. “It’s one of the few sports I follow a little bit.”
“Do you have a favorite player?”
“No, but I admire some of the guys from the past. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig.” Daniel paused, his look curious. “Have you ever heard of Lou Gehrig?”
“Just that there’s a rare disease named after him.”
“It’s not as rare as people think.” Daniel said.
“Really?” Catherine turned to him. “You certainly wear a lot of hats, Daniel. Musician, philosopher, preacher, baseball fan, and now, physician.”
Daniel sighed. “That’s what they call a Jack of all trades master of none.”
“Except music.”
“That one I’ll accept a little credit for.”
Catherine steered Daniel away from the tree to stroll back down the sidewalk.
“You’ve come a long way from dropping rubber bugs in peanut butter jars,” she chuckled.
He winked at her. “I just place them in strategic spots in the produce department now.”
Catherine shook her head, sighing. “If I had a snowball now, I’d hurl it at you.”
Daniel stopped to squeeze her close. “You’re much too close to hurl anything at me. Except maybe an insult.”
“I’m not so sure I could do that.”
“Not while I’m kissing you, you couldn’t.” Daniel reached down to kiss her. His hair fell across Catherine’s cheek, clean and sweet. She shivered inside.
Months ago Daniel had been an eerie stranger, bundled up like a mummy, following her down this same sidewalk. She would never have guessed who he was, wrapped up in that scarf as he was back then, even if she had seen him perform before. Then a funny thought struck her, she still had Daniel’s red scarf at home. She hadn’t thought of it in months.
Months. Sometimes it felt as though she’d known Daniel all of her life. Other times it seemed she’d only known him for minutes. As Joey often said, Daniel was an epitome. An epitome of wonder, charm, magic. Before she had met Daniel, Catherine would have been disgusted with herself for even thinking of feeling this way over some ridiculous man. A ridiculous man nicknamed ‘Mowgli,’ of all things.
Thank goodness feelings change.
Daniel pulled away, looked into her eyes. In the shadows his face was a delicate balance of softness and angles, his eyes gleamed like new pennies. He was a breathtaking man, and Catherine found herself wondering once again what he saw in her. She remembered him whispering, “I love you,” when he was spinning her around on the porch. It’d come out so spontaneously, she doubted he realized he’d said it. She ached for him to say it once more.
But Daniel remained silent. He gave her a knowing smile, reached down to kiss her forehead, and they began to walk once more.
They were silent again for quite some time, absorbed in the evening, absorbed in each other. Catherine relished in the warmth of Daniel’s arm around her neck, content just to listen to the sound of their footsteps in the night. Gradually it dawned on her that Daniel was walking with a peculiar gait. One leg seemed to hitch a bit as he walked, and she wondered if he’d hurt it in the
fall from the porch. He also seemed more tired than usual, although the dark circles that were beneath his eyes when he’d first returned were gone.
“You seem to be walking a little funny,” she said, “Are you all right?”
He took an unnaturally long time to answer.
“I’m a little out of form after that sabbatical,” he admitted. “The band and I have spent the past week practicing like madmen for the concert at State. It’s coming up so fast that it’s hard to comprehend it all and digest the fact that it could be the start of a national tour for us. We’ll be on the road for months,” he said, lowering his voice. “Every night I give at least one radio interview, some with stations as far away as San Diego and Seattle. Joey’s lining us up for big things. Big as I’ve ever dreamed. Now I’m not even sure what I want anymore.”
Catherine trembled inside. She knew the tour was coming up. She’d always known it’d be inevitable that time spent alone with Daniel would one day be preciously little. It was even more difficult to hear it from Daniel’s own mouth.
“You’re quiet,” Daniel said after a few minutes. “What are you thinking?”
Catherine struggled to speak. “How much I’m going to miss you when you’re away. It scares me to think that our lives will go in such completely different directions.”
“It scares me, too.” Daniel agreed.
They walked on, clutching each other’s hands.
After that, Catherine lost track of time. She tried to clear her mind of anything relating to how she was going to feel when Daniel was gone. It’d start in the summer, when classes were over and she could get a job and live here at a time when the rent was next to nothing. She’d spend her time working, studying, and volunteering to do things like walk the dogs at the small animal clinic the college owned. She would keep busy. And when the loneliness got too intense, she and Joanne could be miserable together, for Joanne was falling for Joey, and Joey would also be away.
Self-serving as it seemed, it was a comforting thought to know she wouldn’t be alone in her loneliness. Thank goodness Joanne was planning to spend the summer on campus, too. It was the only thing that made the thought of the band’s tour bearable.
She was brought to reality when Daniel stopped, gestured ahead and asked, “Remember that?”
The stone mansion — Joey’s mansion — loomed spectrally out of the shadows ahead of them. It seemed oddly solemn and peaceful against the starry sky. Catherine’s eyes wandered past crisscrossing tree branches to the top floor where the ballroom lay. The memory of her and Daniel dancing across the cold, dusty floor rushed back to her.
She could see it again, smell it again.
“I have something to show you,” Daniel said.
Before Catherine knew it, she and Daniel were standing at the front door. She looked at Daniel and in her mind’s eye saw him as the bundled-up stranger she had been so leery of that cold November night. It was like a deja vu that needn’t be… she knew she’d been here before. But the mysterious feeling hung with her. Then once again she and Daniel were inside, sneaking up the wide oak stairway, clambering through musty smelling hallways to their destination. They saw a boarder here and there, but each went on with his business and asked no questions. Finally they reached the narrow back door of the ballroom stairway. Daniel fumbled with the lock and gestured her into the stairway.
Catherine turned to him, bubbling with excitement. “I don’t mind going up first. You don’t have a hat to pull down over your face to make you look headless this time.”
Daniel arched his eyebrows up and down at her. “We’ll see.”
Catherine smiled, and then started up the steps. The closer to the top she got, the lighter it appeared to be. She slowed, glancing questioningly behind her. Daniel merely grinned, encouraging her on.
Yes…there was definitely a glow ahead. And the dusty smell of the hallway was slowly replaced by something that tickled the inside of Catherine’s nose. She hurried up the last few steps, stood in the doorway, and gasped.
The ballroom was spotless. The polished oak floor gleamed like gold beneath lighted sconces placed on the walls throughout the room. The floor itself was dappled with pink rose petals. Hundreds of them filled her senses with their intoxicating smell.
But that wasn’t all.
At the far end of the room, atop the ornate wooden stage sat a table smothered in candles and flowers. Overcome with wonder, Catherine could scarcely breathe.
Daniel bowed with a gesture reminiscent of ‘The King and I.’
“Your dinner awaits, my lady.”
“Daniel,” was all Catherine could whisper.
Daniel took her arm and led her across the flower petals toward the table. Catherine turned in half-circles as they walked, fascinated. The lengths Daniel had gone to just to rid the room of dust and cobwebs was incredible. She was unable to speak until Daniel led her up the narrow steps at the back of the stage to their meal.
“I wanted the meal to be a little exotic, yet fun,” Daniel said, pulling a chair away from the table for Catherine. “So I decided on a fondue.”
Catherine took her seat, staring at the glowing pot in the center of the table. On a platter next to it sat an arrangement of cheese cubes, sausages and olives of all varieties.
“It’s a pizza fondue.” Daniel explained, working his way around the table to his own seat. “I thought it might be fun.”
“I love this,” Catherine said, gazing at the wine glasses and china in front of her. “But it’s going to take a long time to eat this way.”
“That’s what I was counting on.” Daniel said, stretching forward to work his way through obstacles to take her hands. “It’s just you and me tonight.” He held her hands a moment, and then released them to pour her wine.
“Am I worth the wait?” Catherine asked.
Daniel stopped to look into her eyes. “You’re worth it.” He then finished filling her glass and settled into a chair across from Catherine. “There’s one thing I’d like to do before we indulge,” he said cautiously.
“And that is?” Catherine asked, folding her hands together in front of her.
“To say a prayer. I’d like to give thanks for this evening. I want to absorb it. Never forget it.”
“Me, either.” Catherine whispered.
Daniel lowered his head, and Catherine did likewise. As Daniel softly began, she couldn’t help but raise her eyes a little to gaze at this well-known musician bowing his head in humble prayer. What irony this was… what wonderful irony.
“Thank you Lord,” Daniel said, “for bringing Catherine and me together. Thank you for the moments we share. Please help keep our bond strong and beautiful. I especially thank you for this night… and for this simple meal. May it be one we both cherish as long as we live. Amen.”
“Amen.” Catherine repeated, quickly closing her eyes in case Daniel caught her watching him. When she re-opened them, Daniel was smiling.
“That means a lot to me.” he said.
There was a silence.
Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Shall we begin?” He gestured to the table where a smaller fondue pot sat. “We could do it backward if you like, and have dessert first. That’s melted dark chocolate. I found the juiciest ripe strawberries to dip.”
Catherine’s mouth watered. How did he know I love strawberries? It was almost as if Daniel could read her mind.
Either that, or Joey asked Joanne about it.
More likely.
Catherine smiled, and punched her fork into a berry.
****
Two hours later the wine was gone, the trays were emptied, and Catherine and Daniel’s stomachs were full.
Then Daniel had another surprise.
He put a CD into an old boom box by the stage, then held his arms out to Catherine for a dance. In her mind’s eye, Catherine saw him as the mysterious stranger who swept his hat and scarf away from his face to let them drop to the floor. She remembered thinking she had never see
n a man as elegant. Now, on a gleaming floor covered with rose petals, she was re-living it. Only this time it was even better.
As Daniel took Catherine in his arms, music spilled throughout the room.
It was gorgeous music. Daniel’s music.
It was his voice, his words, and as Catherine listened to lyrics from a mind overwhelmed in wonder… she recognized the song. Earthbound Angel. The first poem Daniel had written for her. He’d recorded it solo on his acoustic guitar.
“I’d sing and play it for you myself,” Daniel whispered, his breath in her ear making her shiver, “but then I wouldn’t be able to dance with you. It’s your song, Catherine, and I wanted to be holding you the first time you heard it.”
Catherine pressed her cheek against Daniel’s chest as he whisper-sang the lyrics. Around and around they danced. After the song they continued to circle dream-like throughout the old ballroom.
“Don’t you sometimes wish time could just stand still?” Daniel said in her ear. His voice began to quiver, and his shoulders actually trembled beneath her hands. “Don’t you just wish we could freeze this moment for a while?”
“I do.” Catherine said, wondering at the intensity of his muse. “But we have all the time in the world to create memories just like this.”
Yet oddly, Daniel trembled all the more.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You were kind of hard on the band, weren’t you?” Joanne asked, twirling the straw in her soda in circles.
Joey rested his chin in his hand on the tabletop, and gazed blankly over the studio.
“Somebody has to push them when Daniel’s gone.” he mumbled.
“They have ambition on their own, I can see that much,” Joanne disagreed, “But they understand their leader needed a night off to be with his girl.” She thought of Catherine, and wondered what she and Daniel were doing right now. Daniel told Catherine he had special plans for her that night, but had kept those plans a mystery. Joanne glanced at her watch. Ten-thirty p.m. Whatever her roommate and Daniel were up to, it was probably much more interesting than what she and Joey were doing… which was nothing.
