A Ripple in Time

by David Berardelli

“The subconscious is a strange thing. I was spending time with you the only way I could. Maybe your subconscious caught it and convinced you that you weren’t one hundred percent ready to marry anyone else.”

  This made me wonder about all the other sudden decisions I’d made in the past. “Jenna…how many times did you actually share my dreams with me?”

  “Too many to count. My self-control wasn’t very strong in those days, and I was still very much indebted to you…and, of course, quite taken. I’ve liked you ever since I first saw you climb that oak tree. I’m sure you knew that then.”

  “I think I might have been too young to think about things like that at the time. Back then, I liked climbing trees, watching movies and playing video games. I didn’t really think too much about girls until I was a little older.”

  “Things were much different with me. I’d been forced to grow up much faster than most other kids, so my hormones were already all set up and working by the time I first saw you. And when I saw you years later, at the airport…well, that turned out to be the icing on the cake. I knew I was in love with you then. I also knew it was impossible to do anything about it.”

  “So now you’re releasing me?”

  A nod. “We’re square, now, and I can cross over without any feelings of guilt, or remorse.”

  I felt a lump gathering in my throat. “And I’ll never see you again…”

  She blinked, and another tear drifted down her cheek. “Not in this life…”

  A sudden strong sense of sadness made me empty inside.

  She reached out and took my hand one last time. “Would you do one last favor for me?”

  “Anything.”

  “One last kiss?”

  I could feel more tears gathering. “I’m guessing you don’t want it on the cheek this time…”

  Without warning, she came closer and planted a tender kiss on my lips. I put my arms around her, but she’d already begun fading.

  “Bye, Bill.” Her face was very close to mine. “Thank you for saving me…and for being there when I needed you.”

  “And thank you for saving me, Jenna.”

  Although she was nearly invisible, she still managed to squeeze my hand one last time. “Now you can meet some lucky woman and spend the rest of your life with her.”

  I couldn’t bear watching her disappear so quickly. “Jenna, please don’t—“

  “I like Brittany. She’s very nice. I think the two of you were actually meant for one another.”

  “Jenna, what can I do to—“

  “Get married, Bill. Be happy. That’s the best thing I can wish for you right now. And don’t worry. I’ll never interfere again. I promise that the next time we meet, it won’t be in a dream.”

  The pressure on my hand disappeared.

  Before she vanished, I caught one last wave, and the darkness returned.

  I opened my eyes.

  I was sitting on the park bench, my cup of steaming hot cocoa warming my hands. Brittany was walking back from the Christmas tree, her beautiful green eyes fixed on me with every step she took.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “I could’ve sworn you’d abandoned me,” Brittany said, sitting down beside me.

  I looked around. The same crowd. The same carolers. Apparently nothing had changed since Jenna had pulled me into the past with her. It seemed like I’d been gone for several hours, but something told me I wasn’t gone very long at all.

  “Really?” Instinct told me to act surprised. I guessed that if I told her what had really happened, she’d run for cover. “You actually thought I left you?”

  She had a sip of hot cocoa and shivered a little from the cold. “I was checking out one of the ornaments. It was really cute. A Norman Rockwell Santa—right out of one of his paintings. I wanted you to see it, but when I turned to yell for you to join me, you weren’t here.”

  “Are you saying I was gone?”

  “Of course not. Throngs of people were walking by, and when I glanced over here, I thought I saw an empty bench. But when a group of older people passed just a few seconds later, there you were. I guess it was just my imagination.”

  I feigned anger. “You actually thought I’d leave you here? All alone? With these strangers wandering around?”

  She reddened. “That was kind of paranoid, wasn’t it?”

  “Slightly, but I’ll forgive you—this time.”

  She patted my forearm. “I’m truly sorry. You were out of my sight for what was probably no more than just a few seconds and I was all set to panic.”

  “Do you usually panic on all your dates?”

  She smiled. “Only when I think I’ve been abandoned…”

  “Has that ever happened?”

  “Not yet…”

  “Good. There is hope for the male species, after all.”

  She laughed and brushed up against me.

  A few seconds. I was only gone a few seconds. I’d been pulled from the land of the living by Jenna’s spirit, taken back to our childhood, then to Mount Lebanon Cemetery, where her body had been laid to rest nearly two decades ago…

  All this in just seconds.

  It seemed so unreal.

  The whole thing was incredible. In fact, this entire trip had turned dreamlike from the moment I was mugged…up until that very special kiss I’d shared with the ghost of a beautiful woman I would have fallen in love with, married, and shared the rest of my life with, had the circumstances been different.

  However, it was never to be.

  But in spite of knowing what happened and what didn’t happen, I knew that I’d never forget Jenna, nor would I ever forget what she’d given me.

  Just a few seconds of my life had changed my destiny forever.

  A lifetime had been shared…in just moments.

  “Time is much different on the other side.”

  It certainly was. In just a few seconds of mortal time, she’d shown me love…and admiration…and respect…and the longing of one heart for another… But most of all, a burning desire for gratitude that had survived the tragically short lifetime of a gentle soul, even after death…

  “Time is but a ripple, separating special moments…“

  It was so difficult to imagine.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Brittany said. “Is something wrong?”

  “I think the two of you were actually meant for one another.”

  “No.” I placed my hand on hers. ”As a matter of fact, for the first time in my life, everything is totally right.”

  Brittany moved closer to me and gazed into my eyes. Her voice was soft, but the message was clear. “What would you like to do now, Bill?”

  I smiled. “Something I’ve wanted to do ever since I first laid eyes on you.”

  “Really?” Her eyes grew. “What’s that?”

  “A gentleman never reveals his private thoughts…“

  She kissed me, and when she pulled away, she kept her face very close. “Forget the gentleman thing, okay? Just tell me what you wanna do.”

  “I’d like to spend Christmas Eve with you.”

  She blinked. “But…you already are.”

  I looked into her eyes and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Yes, but I’d like to keep doing it until it becomes Christmas.”

  We kissed again.

  Many moments later, she stood and took my hand.

  Then we hurried out of the Square and went back to where she’d parked her Lexus.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The next morning, after Brittany and I devoured a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs with melted cheese and diced ham, rye toast, croissants and cinnamon-flavored coffee, I asked her to help me find a florist that would be open on Christmas Day.

  She asked no questions. This, of course, convinced me that she really was a terrific, understanding lady. After nearly an hour of checking the local floral shops in the Yellow Pages, we found a small place on McKnight Road that was open until noon. I bought a bouquet of a dozen
fresh white roses and gave a twenty-dollar tip to the daughter of the owner, the sweet girl who’d help me pick it out and took special care wrapping it up.

  Twenty minutes later, Brittany and I were off to Mt. Lebanon.

  At ten o’clock, traffic was nearly non-existent. On Christmas morning, everyone is too busy exchanging and opening gifts, having breakfast or sleeping in, to spend time on the highway.

  It took just half an hour to reach the cemetery and only a few minutes to find Jenna’s marker. I was soon standing over her stone once again, my head spinning with images of what happened the previous evening. As before, I found myself weakening when the realization hit me. Jenna had actually returned from the dead not only to save my life, but also to show me what had happened to her and how much I’d truly meant to her.

  The instant I felt my self-control crumbling, I forced myself to hold it all together. Jenna wouldn’t want me to crumble—not now, and especially not in front of Brittany. So I collected myself. I stared at her name on the marker while inwardly hoping against hope that time would do its thing yet again to create that special ripple that would bring Jenna back once more. I knew this was foolish, but it was how I felt.

  I closed my eyes and visualized her face. At first, she appeared as little Jenna. Then, in the next instant, she’d changed once again into grown-up Jenna, and she was smiling at me. And as she smiled, I was convinced I could hear her voice. She was telling me to be happy…to get married…and that she would never forget me.

  Just then, a warm hand gripped mine, and I cringed and turned sharply.

  Brittany stood beside me, smiling. Once the tense moment had passed, I managed to return her smile. I hoped she wouldn’t be able to tell by my tense expression that she’d nearly given me a heart attack—that for one brief instant, I’d thought Jenna had actually come back.

  Brittany’s beautiful smile showed only warmth and contentment.

  Whether I liked it or not, I was back in the present. However, things weren’t as bleak as they could have been. A beautiful woman was standing beside me. She’d brought me here so I could bring flowers to a dead young woman I’d never really known…a young woman who, unbeknownst to me, had been watching over me nearly half my life.

  As I looked down upon Jenna’s grave, I felt the tears coming again but forced myself to concentrate on the issue at hand. My thoughts were simple, but heartfelt: “Jenna, I know I just saw you last night, but I just had to come back and pay my respects. I know I’ll never be able to properly thank you for what you’ve done for me or even begin to understand everything that happened between us. But I know what I saw and what I felt, and all I can say is that when my time comes, I hope with all my heart that I’ll see you again.”

  Sighing from the effort, I knelt on the cold, snow-dusted ground and placed the bouquet of roses on her stone. Once I felt more tears gathering, I wiped them away and straightened.

  “May I ask?” Brittany whispered, coming closer.

  I knew then that it was time to let Brittany know what was going on, so I nodded.

  “Girlfriend from your past?”

  From my past, present, and future, I wanted to say. But I knew better than say something like that to a woman I’d just met only days ago and already cared very much for. “If I’d paid more attention to her, I would have probably fallen in love with her.”

  Brittany stared at me the longest time before she responded. “Would it be terrible of me to say that I’m really glad things turned out the way they did?”

  I smiled at her. “I’m really glad things turned out this way, too.”

  Brittany went silent. Then she placed her hand in mine and turned to gaze at Jenna’s marker. “She must have been a special lady.”

  “She was. Very special.”

  “How did she die? Or shouldn’t I ask?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  Her beautiful green eyes stayed on me. “I hope you’ll tell me all about her one day.”

  In that one moment I saw something in those eyes I’d only seen once before. I’d seen it in Jenna’s eyes just before she’d kissed me, and I knew right then that Jenna had been right. Brittany and I were meant to be together.

  “I will,” I told her, and she smiled and squeezed my hand.

  “Jenna must have been truly special,” she said. “You’ve never forgotten her.”

  “Actually, she’s always been with me.”

  “Should I be jealous?”

  “She wouldn’t want you to be.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because she likes you.”

  “What?”

  Realizing what I’d just said, I sighed. “I meant…she would’ve liked you.”

  Brittany gave my hand a slight tug. “Let’s go back to my place. It’s Christmas Day. She wouldn’t want you to spend Christmas Day here, would she?”

  “She’d want me to enjoy myself.”

  “Let’s go, then.”

  I stared at the rose-covered marker one last time. “I’ll never forget you, Jenna. You’ll always be in my heart.”

  Brittany nudged me once again, and we turned and went back down the hill, where her silver Lexus awaited us.

  Just as I climbed in, I could have sworn I heard Jenna’s voice in my head, saying, “Be happy, Bill, and I’ll see you again, one day.”

  Fresh tears gathered in my eyes as Brittany started up the car and eased away from the curb.