by Connie Lacy
But I was out the door. In the distance, I saw a police officer chasing Ike, both of them running like crazy, both of them with guns in their hands. I knew it was Brian even though I couldn’t see his face. I took off after them through the drizzle, trying not to let them out of my sight, but they veered away from the street into the darkness. I struggled to keep up, but they were pulling away and I knew I was about to lose sight of them. My ribs were killing me but I couldn’t slow down. I heard a police walkie-talkie up ahead, just like in my vision, and a siren behind me as a second cop car arrived at the store. Then I saw them running between two apartment buildings, a dim streetlight in the distance. This is where I’d seen Brian get killed!
“Nooo!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs.
And then Ike paused under the streetlight and aimed his weapon at Brian. There was a loud pop, pop. Brian was knocked backwards as though someone had punched him hard in the chest. But he extended his arm and returned fire before collapsing in the parking lot.
“Brian!” I screamed, racing toward him.
He was lying motionless on his side, his face pale and flaccid, his gun still in his hand when I reached him. I knelt down, burying my face in his shoulder and sobbed. Losing him was too cruel and I broke down completely there on the wet asphalt, wrapping my arms around him. My visions and warnings hadn’t done any good. I wailed in grief.
But then he groaned softly and I lifted my head so I could see his face. I scanned his body for blood, but couldn’t see any. He was soaked to the skin with rain and sweat, his hair plastered to his head. Then I noticed a deep furrow between his brows as he opened his eyes.
“Jenna?” he whispered.
Looking directly into his eyes, I was thrust immediately into a scene at the beach. The ocean was blue-green, the waves breaking as they rolled onto the sand. Brian and I were holding hands, walking barefoot in the surf and I looked up into his smiling eyes. And that’s all I needed so I yanked myself out of the vision and back into the present.
“Oh, Brian…” I said, tears streaming down my face.
I hugged him gently, kissing his cheek.
“I’m wearing a bulletproof vest.
“I know.”
“But you… you’ve got blood all over you.”
When I looked down, there was a dark red stain on my top.
“It’s not mine,” I said.
Then two cops ran up, their weapons drawn. One of them was on his two-way. The other spoke to Brian, his gun aimed across the parking lot.
“You wounded?”
“Bruised,” Brian replied. “I’m wearing body armor.”
The two officers moved carefully to the spot where Ike had fallen, their weapons aimed at his inert body. Then blue lights filled the misty night, as two police cars pulled up on the street behind us and another cop rushed toward us.
“EMT’s on the way,” he said.
The officers who had run after Ike called out then.
“He’s dead.”
“And Raymond?” Brian asked, looking from the officer to me, as it dawned on him whose blood was on my clothes.
I took my phone out of my pocket and texted Tia as an ambulance jumped the curb and rumbled in our direction. But she didn’t reply.
“I need to find out what happened,” I told him, kissing him as the paramedics prepared to load him into the ambulance. “I’ll see you at the hospital.”
One of the officers escorted me back to the store which had three cop cars and an ambulance parked out front, along with two TV trucks with satellite dishes on top. As we approached, two paramedics were lifting Raymond’s stretcher into the vehicle. His shirt was gone and he was hooked up to an IV but that’s all I could see. A woman officer was unrolling crime scene tape and wouldn’t let me pass.
“But where’s Tia?” I asked.
She gestured at a nearby police cruiser where I could see Tia in the back seat talking with an officer.
“Jenna!”
It was Alex Park walking toward me. Naturally, he was the reporter covering the shooting for his TV station.
“You involved in this?” he asked, noticing the blood on my shirt. He had this confused, surprised expression on his face.
I looked directly at him but only saw the dark eyes I used to find so attractive. Since there was no longer any emotional attachment, there was no vision.
His cameraman was closing in on us, shooting video as he walked.
“Can’t talk,” I said and headed for the police car.
A tall black man in a suit intercepted me.
“I’m Investigator Washington,” he said. “I’d like to ask you some questions. I understand you intervened inside the store tonight.”
“But what about Raymond? I asked.
“He’s on his way to the hospital. Not sure how seriously he was wounded. Were you wounded too?” he asked, eyeing my top.
I looked down and noticed more blood than before.
35.
Sitting beside Tia in the back of the cop car, I realized the pain I thought was from my cracked ribs wasn’t just coming from inside my chest. I pulled my top up to take a peek.
“Oh my God!” she cried.
“I think I was just grazed.”
“Just grazed? You nearly got yourself killed! And you, like, saved that boy’s life! Let me see.”
And she proceeded to inspect me.
“I don’t see a hole anywhere,” she said. “But there’s a lot of blood and you need to have a doctor look at that, like, right away.”
“I will, I will.”
Strange, I hadn’t even felt it during all the chaos. I closed my eyes and leaned back.
“What about Brian?” she asked.
“He was wearing a bulletproof vest.”
And she let out her breath as though she’d been holding it a long time. Then she reached over and took my hand in hers, but didn’t say another word.
She drove me to the hospital after I convinced the detective I didn’t need an ambulance. Once they confirmed the bullet had just grazed my belly and cleaned it up, Investigator Washington was waiting to question me. He was really curious about why Tia and I were at the store when the armed robbery went down. As much as possible I told him the truth. But I couldn’t help wondering what Tia might’ve said.
“Well, you may know I’ve been dating Brian Mitchell.”
“He told us.”
“You may also know that Brian volunteers as a Big Brother. And Raymond – the guy who was shot in the store tonight – is one of his little brothers, so to speak.”
“Mm-hm.”
“So, Brian told me Raymond had gotten involved with a guy who might be pressuring him to join a gang and forcing him to prove himself by robbing a store.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why you and your friend were at this store on this particular night.”
I paused, not sure what to say.
“I… I had a dream that something bad would happen tonight.”
“But why did you decide Joe’s Food and Liquor was the place?”
“It was the store closest to where Raymond lives,” I said, hoping that was true. “And it just looked like the store in my dream.”
Then he asked me to tell him what happened, start to finish, and I shared everything I could remember. Finally, he said I could go. I walked out into the ER waiting room to find Tia. But she wasn’t alone. Her dad, my dad and Meg were pummeling her with questions. When they spotted me, Dad jumped up and wrapped his arms around me. Then Meg hugged me too.
“We were so worried,” she said.
I avoided looking into their eyes but did my best to disguise what I was doing.
“Did Tia call you?” I asked, surprised they were here.
“No,” Dad said. “Although it would’ve been nice if someone had called us. We were watching the news and, lo and behold, their lead story is an armed robbery where one of the robbers is killed, one is wounded and my daughter and her best friend just happen to be a
t the store when it all goes down!”
“That guy Alex – the one you introduced us to – he was the reporter,” Meg said. “And he showed video of you and Tia!”
“That’s how I found out too,” Mr. Spencer said, giving Tia a look of fatherly irritation.
“What the hell were you two doing in such a dicey neighborhood?” Dad asked.
“Yeah!” said Mr. Spencer.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “And I’ll tell you all about it, but first I need to find Brian.” And I scanned the Emergency Room.
“Who’s Brian?” Dad asked.
“I’ll introduce you very soon.” And I headed off, but turned around and walked backwards. “Oh, Dad, I’ve been meaning to tell you that too much bicycling isn’t good for you. I read an article that says the number of fatal bike accidents is rising, mainly because drivers are careless and run over them.”
“First you tell me to get healthy and now you’re telling me not to ride my bike?”
I shrugged my shoulders and hurried off. I knew we’d have more conversations about it. And I’d have to think about whether to tell him about my visions.
I heard Tia informing everyone that Brian was my boyfriend as I approached the nurse’s station.
“I’m looking for Brian Mitchell,” I said. “He’s the cop who was brought in here tonight.”
A large nurse behind the desk looked at me like I was crazy and turned to a man standing beside me like I’d cut in line. So I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted him: “where r u?” There was an immediate reply: “Room 106.”
I found him lying in bed with his sister by his side. Amy smiled warmly and hugged me.
“Thank you for nagging him to wear a bulletproof vest,” she whispered.
Then I hurried to the other side of the bed and took his hand, very conscious of her presence. But it was obvious he didn’t care who was in the room as he grabbed me and kissed my lips softly.
“I still haven’t found out anything about Raymond,” I said.
“He’s in emergency surgery right now to remove the bullet, but it looks like it missed his internal organs, thanks to you.” Then he noticed my top. “But what the hell? You’ve got even more blood on you than before!”
“I was only grazed. I’m fine.”
“Listen, I’ll be in the waiting room,” Amy said. “I can give you both a lift home when you’re ready.”
As soon as she was gone, Brian pulled me onto the bed with him so we were lying face to face, and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.
“How did you know I was all right?” he asked. “I mean, when you found me.”
“At first, I thought you were dead,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion.
“It’s all right,” he whispered, stroking my hair.
“But when you came to, I looked in your eyes.”
“And what did you see?”
“The two of us walking on the beach.”
He hugged me tighter and we both said “ow.” Which caused us to giggle.
And that’s when a doctor in blue scrubs walked in, raising his eyebrows in amusement.
“I’m guessing this is not your sister,” he said.
Brian laughed as I eased myself off the bed, trying to hide my blush.
“No, this is my bride-to-be, Jenna Stevens. Jenna, this is Dr. Kahn.”
We nodded at each other.
“Okay,” the doctor said, “I’m ordering you to stay home for ten days till that bruising gets better.”
Brian took my hand like he wanted to keep me close. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he talked with the doctor about his prescription, about not lifting anything or doing anything strenuous, and coming in for a follow-up. I was still floating in that split second when he introduced me as his “bride-to-be.” In all my romantic fantasies, I’d never once imagined the man I loved would ask me to marry him by announcing to an emergency room doctor that I was his fiancée. When we were alone again, he sat up gingerly, swung his legs over the side of the bed, took my hand again and kissed it.
“Jenna…” he said, but we were interrupted once more as the door burst open and in flooded everyone – Amy, Dad, Meg, Tia and Mr. Spencer.
“I made some new friends in the waiting room,” Amy said, a big smile on her face.
“So this is Brian,” Dad said, stepping forward to shake Brian’s hand.
“This is my dad, Tom Stevens,” I said. “And his wife, Meg.”
She smiled and stood beside Dad.
“And this is Tia’s father, Louis Spencer,” I said.
“Nice to meet you,” Mr. Spencer said, shaking Brian’s hand as well. “Now, although I’m sure you’re hoping we’ll bend your ear for a while, I’m going to take Tia home now. Amy, very nice to meet you as well.”
Meg took the hint and tugged on Dad’s arm.
“We need to be going too,” she said. “Amy says she can drive them home.”
“Right,” Dad said. “Look forward to seeing you again, Brian, when you’re both rested.”
And everyone disappeared except Amy who walked us to the ER entrance where she’d parked her car. We sat quietly in the back seat holding hands all the way to my house. I think she knew we were worn out because she didn’t try to make conversation.
As soon as we were inside he took my hand and led me upstairs.
“You take the master bath and I’ll shower in the other one,” he said.
I thought about inviting him to join me but the idea seemed too forward or something. This was so different from being with Sam. A few minutes later, as I was toweling off, he knocked and then cracked the door slightly.
“Can I come in?”
“Just a second.” And I threw on my little blue kimono. “Okay.”
I didn’t know what to expect but he’d wrapped a towel around his waist. He stood tentatively in the doorway as though waiting for permission to enter.
“Come over to the mirror,” he finally said.
So we stood in front of the mirror looking at each other’s reflections. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed the side of my face.
“First, I want to thank you for saving my life, and Raymond’s life too. I’m amazed at how brave you were.”
I swallowed hard, realizing then that my love for him had given me the strength I needed to use my strange gift – to force myself totally out of my comfort zone. Knowing I could lose him made the pain of the visions a small price to pay.
“Second, I want you to know I didn’t mean to sound so presumptuous in the E.R.,” he whispered. “It’s just that, in that split second before I introduced you to the doctor, I thought ‘girlfriend’ didn’t hold a candle to how I feel about you and what you mean to me and how I want to spend the rest of eternity with you. So I couldn’t bring myself to call you my girlfriend. It was completely inadequate. Because I love you with every heartbeat, every breath, every cell in my body.”
I opened my mouth to speak but he wasn’t through.
“You will marry me, won’t you?” he asked, a hopeful, uncertain expression suddenly crossing his face.
“Oh, Brian,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“Say yes,” he whispered.
“But…”
“There’s a but?”
“When I thought I’d lost you tonight, I…”
My heart was in my throat and I couldn’t continue.
“Shh. When the investigation is over and I’m cleared for duty, I’ve asked for a desk job. And law school graduation will be here before you know it.”
So I whispered “yes” and spun around so I could hold his warm body in my arms. It felt so good, I didn’t want to let go.
“There’s one last thing before we get some sleep,” he said, taking my hand and leading me into the bedroom. “I want you to take off that pathetic excuse for a robe.” He untied it and pushed it from my shoulders, then dropped his towel. “And, if you don’t mind, I very much want your naked body next
to mine.”
And we climbed carefully into bed and made love with the most exquisite gentleness before falling asleep in each other’s arms.
36.
We waited until the third Saturday in October. I was in my bra and panties and Brian’s favorite tiny kimono, fixing my hair at the bathroom vanity when he stepped from the shower. I smiled at him in the mirror, admiring his beauty, but he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist.
“No peeking,” he teased, stepping close behind me and kissing me on the neck as his hands came to rest on my waist. “You nervous?”
I chuckled, but before I could reply, there was a tingling in my arms and fingers and a tiny flash of light somewhere in my brain. I closed my eyes and grunted softly.
“What?” he asked.
“Something’s going to happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel it. Something’s going to happen today.”
“Damn right, we’re getting married today!”
He kissed my cheek, gazing into my eyes in the mirror.
“Something else,” I said. “This is the first premonition I’ve had since…”
“You have premonitions in addition to visions?”
“Well, they’re not premonitions exactly. Just feelings that something’s about to happen. I never know what it is ahead of time.”
“One thing’s for sure, our life together won’t be boring.” And he grinned.
That’s when the doorbell rang. It was only a little after 11:30 and the ceremony wasn’t until 2:00.
“I’ll get it,” I said. “You can slip into something a little less comfortable.”
“Well, if it isn’t the bride-to-be, herself,” Tia gushed when I opened the door.
She bustled in like she was in charge, lugging two potted pink azaleas.
“What’re you doing here so early?” I asked.
“Someone had to decorate,” she said, setting the pots down on the coffee table. “You guys go about your business. Don’t mind me. I’m, like, bringing more stuff in.”
“I hope you didn’t get carried away. It’s just supposed to be a quiet affair.”
“Go beautify yourself!” she called over her shoulder as she headed out to her car.
