by Daria Kacie
“This is Dan,” said a smooth voice on the other end of the line.
“Hello, this is Lizzy Sterling. We met at my friend Karen’s house a few weeks back. She said you stopped by. She told me to call you.” Her words came out like machine gun fire.
“Lizzy! Hello! I’m so glad you called me,” Dan said with an obvious smile in his voice.
“Well here I am. What is it that you want?” She tried to cover up how nervous this made her but it just made everything she said blunt than she meant to be. I am such a tool when it comes to men and dating, she thought.
Dan burst out laughing, “I would like to invite you to dinner if you’d consider going.”
“Hmm, well I do need to eat sometimes so I suppose I could do that. When were you thinking?”
“How about Friday at 7:00 p.m.?” said Dan.
“Today is Friday.”
“I meant next Friday,” said Dan.
Oh no, she thought. There is no getting out of a Friday night ‘horror date’ because you can’t make a good excuse about getting up early for work.
“I can’t Friday,” Lizzy lied. “I’m busy this whole week except Thursday, I could do Thursday.”
“Thursday it is then. Will 7 o’clock work for you? I’d like to take you to the Royal Crown.”
“Oh?” She had to think if she even owned anything appropriate to wear. The Royal Crown, known as the most expensive, hoity-toity restaurant in town, had a dress code, formal. She had only been there twice. She had been there once after she graduated from college and more recently for a wedding reception. She wondered why someone would want to take her there for a first date. It seemed a little pretentious. She had been adventurous all month, so she decided to go for it even though she’d have to find a dress.
“Alright, 7:00 p.m. will be fine. Are you picking me up or am I meeting you there?” she asked pointedly.
“Wow! Who have you been dating?” Dan asked as he laughed openly again. “I will pick you up if you will trust me with your address.”
“3700 Spiker Lane. I’m right down from Landis Park.”
“I know where it is, I’ll see you then.”
“See you then,” she quickly hung up. Thank God that was over! She called Karen immediately.
“Well, I called him, are you happy now?” she sighed loudly.
“Oh my God! Tell me everything! When are you going? Where are you going? And stop sounding so put out!” Karen knew that Lizzy got nervous on dates, about dates and about men in general. Karen was a romantic and she just knew the right man was out there for Lizzy. Lizzy needed to put herself out there and stop being so serious all the time.
“I need a dress. He’s taking me to the Royal Crown.”
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” repeated Karen.
“Oh my God is right! Calm down. I think he’d been better off to ask you out,” Lizzy’s insecurities began spilling out. How was it that she could feel so strong one minute, so optimistic, and the thought of going out with a man pulled the rug completely out from under her?
“Do you want to go shopping or see what I have in my closet?” Karen asked excitedly.
“Let’s take a look at what you have first. Do you think you’ve got something? I don’t really want to go shopping.”
“I know, you are the only woman I know who loathes shopping so much.
“Pretty much, I’d rather have bamboo shoved under my nails than try on a hundred stupid fitting dresses.
“Come over tonight, I’ll get you set up with something.”
Lizzy hung up and knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work! She checked the clock and made another call, “Hey Jennifer, it’s me.”
“Hello Chickadee, where the hell have you been? I haven’t talked to you in almost a month,” Jennifer said, happy to hear from her friend.
“I’ve got so much to tell you and I can’t concentrate much on work. I’ve got to drop a packet over to a store later this morning, can you have lunch?”
“Happily I can. Where and when?”
“How about that soup and salad place we like, off Main.”
“Sounds great, I’ll see you there.”
Lizzy couldn’t wait to see Jennifer and catch her up on all the news. They usually saw each other weekly to hammer out some important psychological or spiritual issue but the last three weeks had been crazy. She was excited to get back on track. Jennifer always seemed to understand her.
Jennifer pulled up in her new red Honda. Jennifer had a giant white smile with cute little dimples and big brown eyes. Her real estate career had been taking off.
Lizzy waited inside, fidgeting, on the little sitting couch in the entryway. She gave Jennifer a big hug when she got inside.
“I don’t know how three weeks went by so fast. You will not believe what has happened!” Lizzy said unable to contain her excitement.
The two women settled into their booth with their soup and salad. Lizzy launched into the story. Jennifer hung on every word. She couldn’t believe her luck. She had been keeping something to herself for months and now that the subject of ‘spirits’ had been broached, she felt like she could tell Lizzy and not be ridiculed. She laughed heartily when Lizzy recounted meeting Officer Dan and her fashion faux pas.
“Oh Lizzy, only you!” she reached over and patted Lizzy’s hand lightly.
“So, we sent Sunday into the light, left Josh at his office and dropped Tom back home,” she sat back in the booth exhausted from talking so fast but exhilarated at the same time.
“Oh wait, one more thing! That ‘Officer Dan’ asked me to dinner,” Lizzy blurted out.
Jennifer burst into laughter, “Oh Lizzy, that is hilarious! Are you going to go out with him?”
“Yes. Yes,” Lizzy said, but made it clear she didn’t want to get into it. She had more important issues to mull over with Jennifer, like moving souls from one dimension to the next. Boys can wait, she thought.
“Lizzy, you have to have some fun! You’ve always got yourself neck deep in some heavy subject whether it is your psychology or spirituality. I’m used to it, but you have got to learn to lighten up a little!” Jennifer looked straight into Lizzy’s eyes and saw the wall. “Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, I hear you. Dan is taking me to the Royal Crown on Thursday night. I didn’t want to go on Friday because, what if I don’t like him? If I go on a Friday, there is no way to shake him off since the next day is Saturday. I’ve just always had such a hard time with first dates. It seems like they always last a little too long and get weird, whether I like the guy or not. The ‘or not’ is the worst, especially when you just want to go home and the date from hell thinks he wants to go home with you too.”
“Oh shit! You’re a crack up. I’m surprised you didn’t tell him you’d meet him there,” Jennifer said with a smirk. Lizzy’s face dropped. “You did not tell him you would meet him there, did you?” Jennifer put her hands up to her face and began to laugh hysterically.
“Clearly I’m here on this earth for everyone’s amusement!” Lizzy said completely embarrassed.
“Lizzy, it will be fine. Go to the Royal Crown and have some fun with ‘Officer Dan’. I think its ok for him to know where you live. You’ll be able to cut your date off by 10:00 o’clock if you want by saying you have to work. You’ve set it up nicely. You will be fine, but give the guy a chance already!”
Lizzy nodded and shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll do my best.”
“Listen, I know you’re dying to get off this subject so let me talk to you about something that’s been bothering me for quite some time. I felt weird telling you, or anyone for that matter because I thought maybe I was just letting my imagination get away with me. Now, after hearing your story, I feel a little better telling you my weird secret. I think I’ve got something going on at the house.”
Lizzy sat straight up and leaned forward instantly intrigued, “Really? What is it?”
Jennifer lowered her voice. “This has been goi
ng on since I moved in last year with Gary. There is something in the corner of the bedroom. It’s like a dark, shadowy mass. I can tell its there because it blocks the lights from the window. That’s the best way I can describe it. I wake up at night quite often to go the bathroom and when I get up and walk to the bathroom, it rushes to follow me to the door. At first, I thought it was my imagination even though I had the creepiest feeling, I just tried to ignore it. Lately, I’ve begun to feel intimidated by it. I’m getting so freaked out that I won’t get up now. I just look at it from my bed when I wake up and decide if I want to deal with the challenge.”
“I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me this a long time ago,” said Lizzy.
“I know, but it’s not something you just bring up in casual conversation.”
“When have WE ever had casual conversation?” Lizzy said rolling her eyes.
“I didn’t know how to bring it up. Even now, trying to describe the feeling and the situation is difficult. If I tell the wrong person they will think I’m crazy and sometimes that impression never goes away.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?” Lizzy said as she grinned back at Jennifer.
“Oh shut up Lizzy! Everyone knows you’re crazy and they’re fine with it.”
“What? Does everyone think I’m crazy?” This little tidbit actually alarmed Lizzy for a moment.
“No! I’m kidding, but, you are more complex than most and you are always into something,” Jennifer didn’t feel like calming Lizzy’s insecurities at the moment.
“All right, all right,” said Lizzy. “back to the subject. Can we go over to your house so I can get a feel for it?”
Lizzy had been to Jennifer’s house many times before. Her home was tastefully furnished and decorated with brown and maroon colors. Lizzy had never picked up on anything strange in the house, although she had never been in Jennifer’s room. Lizzy followed Jennifer home. She sat quietly on the corner of the bed with her eyes shut. Ten minutes drifted by and she wondered back into the living room and sat down with Jennifer.
“So, it’s almost like,” she paused, “well, I got the impression of a dog. A big dog like a German Shepherd, black, dark, I see how dark it is. I don’t get a heavy negative feeling but I don’t really get a positive one either. All I keep getting is ‘the watcher’,”
Jennifer’s mouth hung open for a brief moment, “I felt that same thing! Why is it racing me to the bathroom door and intimidating me? This house is only a few years old so why is it here and where did it come from?”
“It’s odd. I definitely get a strange feeling from it. I don’t feel you are in danger, however, I also don’t feel it is a positive energy for you to live with. I got an impression of a kind of soldier type guarding and watching this area. I don’t know if your house is built on an area that he protected when alive or just what that impression is about. I’ve been diving in and studying spirit activity and a dark mass has never been a good spirit. There are some energys that are repeat, like a replay of a of an event. It is called residual energy and it does not recognize nor acknowledge the living. It is more like a recording. Then there are spirits trapped here who have decided for whatever reason not to move on into the light. Usually there is a mission or need to finish something or fix a situation. The feeling I’m getting in your room has a really strange vibe to it. I can’t pinpoint it. I don’t think I can get back over here before Friday to do a blessing. If you want it donet sooner, you could do it yourself.”
“Huh uh, no, I’ll wait for you,” Jennifer was emphatic.
“Do you think you will be ok until then? I can do a blessing and see we’ll see if we can move it out of here but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Honestly, I will be fine. I haven’t had a lot of sleep this last two weeks because of it. It seems to be escalating and getting more intense. I keep waking up around 3:00 a.m. and I can see it over there in the corner,” Jennifer pointed back to her room. “I kind of don’t open my eyes completely anymore. I check to see if it’s there. It has been there every night this month. I just can’t drink anything before I go to bed I guess! That will hopefully keep me from needing to go pee in the middle of the night. A couple more days is not going to kill me,” Jennifer gave Lizzy her big white smile.
“I think it’s strange that now that I’ve had this paranormal experience, I’m finding out about a lot of other people’s experiences,” Lizzy said as she stood up and walked to the corner of the room where the energy had been revealing itself.
“It is exciting too, isn’t it?” asked Jennifer. “Maybe it’s just law of attraction,” Jennifer said as she motioned Lizzy back into the kitchen.
“I can’t. I have to get back to work. I’m going to Karen’s tonight to try on a couple of dresses for the big date Thursday.” Her mind was tweaking, pushing, and trying to dial into what was happening in Jennifer’s house. “Why would he take me to such a fancy restaurant on our first date?”
“Uh, maybe he’s trying to impress you,” Jennifer replied.
“Why though? The day he met me I had my shirt inside out, hardly any make up, basically I was a mess. It’s not exactly a top ten list of women’s traits that requires a dinner at the most expensive place in town. Plus, he’s a cop. I thought they didn’t make a lot of money to just be throwing around,” Lizzy’s cynical side raised it’s ugly head. If she could figure a way to get out of this dinner she would but she knew her friends would kill her.
“Lizzy, police officers make a good living. I’m sure he doesn’t go out like this all the time. He obviously means to make some kind of good impression on you. Stop analyzing it and just go and enjoy the dinner.”
Chapter 18
Lizzy absolutely hated trying on clothes. She hated shopping more, so she prayed that Karen would have something she could wear. Dating was not at the top of her list just now. She had this new mission calling to her and she wasn’t feeling the least bit romantic. On the other hand, it wasn’t every day that a man tracked her down for a date.
Men baffled Lizzy. Any insecurities she had were exacerbated when she dated. She never felt pretty growing up or particularly special in any way. It didn’t help that her mother was a stone cold beauty. Her tall, green eyed mother had always been thin with that ‘California Girl’ build. Lizzy was, in her opinion, short, medium build (or in her words ‘stocky’) and sort of average-looking in general. She tried to down play her curvaceous figure. In her 20’s she decided that maybe she was not a wart on the ass of a pig. Lizzy remembered that this was a big step for her, this admission that she was not the wart on the ass of a pig.
Karen knew all the nuances of Lizzy and men after 25 years of friendship. Karen never understood why Lizzy was so insecure and hard on herself. She found it ridiculous that her friend was so blind to her own beauty while she always saw the beauty in her friends. Karen loved Lizzy and saw Lizzy in a much different light than Lizzy saw hereself. Lizzy’s almond-shaped, hazel eyes and a bright smile could disarm almost anyone. Her sharp wit occasionally got her into hot water. She was downright hilarious when she relaxed. The problem was, she had a terrible time relaxing, especially on a date.
Karen never thought of her as “stocky”. Lizzy’s hour glass figure fit well on her 5’4” frame. Karen knew she had always wanted to be a tall, leggy blond. “Get over it, we can’t all be models,” Karen would tell her. “Bleach your hair and shut up already!”
The funny thing about Lizzy is she always was hard on herself regarding her shape and thought she looked bigger than she actually was. She and Karen wore the same size clothes and Lizzy just adored everything about Karen. She thought Karen always looked great and when Karen complained about her size, Lizzy would tell her she was crazy. Karen wondered how those two thought processes could exist in one person. How was it that Lizzy completely could not see herself?
Karen could see that men liked Lizzy but Lizzy was oblivious. When a man did flirt with her she either completely missed the cues
or she fell apart like a 13 year old on their first date. Karen didn’t understand it and love Lizzy in spite of her goofy behavior. Lizzy had seemed to gain some confidence over the last two years. Her last breakup made something snap and she sought counseling. Karen had noticed some good changes that came out of that experience.
Lizzy took pride in her appearance. She dressed conservatively with a flare of color and big jewelry. She had never gone in for manicures, pedicures and facials. It all seemed girlie and superfluous. It was all too much trouble to keep up, and it was darn expensive. She did enjoy a massage every few weeks, which was one indulgence she allowed herself on a regular schedule. She finally had found a hairstyle that was truly blow dry and go. Lizzy’s impatience and constant drive was a thread through her life. Spirituality, loyalty and genuine love of her friends were other important threads woven into the design of her complex personality. Her compassionate heart seemed to get her hurt easily, although with age she was beginning to toughen up. In fact, now she seemed to lean a little more toward cynicism, especially where it came to love and relationships. She had not felt successful in her choices in men and found that when younger, she had fallen in love too easily and expected too little. She understood the choices she made had deeper psychological roots. You marry your parents she thought, and it is a damn shame we recreate painful patterns throughout our lives until we mend the wounds. She had not been married, but had a few long term, live-in relationships that ultimately didn’t work out. Self-esteem issues had plagued her throughout her life and it tended to show up most when she was in relationship.
She had finally decided after the last break up that maybe she should give up on the whole idea of true love and romance. Hope springs eternal though, and Lizzy had worked very hard to heal the wounds that had diverted her in her life. Karen wasn’t going to let her run away either. She was a hopeless romantic! Lizzy hoped she might choose better since she had spent some time after her last break up in therapy. She did feel stronger and more balanced. It all made her wonder if ‘Officer Dan’ was someone who would evolve into something more than a first date?
