Children of Eternity Omnibus

by P. T. Dilloway

  “It’s always good to meet a friend of Samantha’s,” he said.

  For dinner, Joseph prepared a box of macaroni and cheese. Rebecca watched him with fascination, allowing Samantha a few moments alone with Mr. Pryde. “So I guess Rebecca must be a pretty common name where you come from, seeing as how you used to bring over another cousin named Rebecca. She was a little younger and darker as I remember it,” he said.

  “It is a popular name there. Very traditional,” Samantha said. “She’s lost someone very close to her recently and I was wondering if she could stay here until she feels better.”

  “I’m not running a clinic here,” Mr. Pryde said. He sighed and then added, “But seeing as how I’m going to have plenty of room I don’t see why not.”

  Rebecca ran in from the doorway to crush Mr. Pryde in a hug. “Oh thank you, sir,” she said. “You won’t be sorry. Joseph showed me how to use the appliances and I’m sure I can help out with the housekeeping.”

  Mr. Pryde reluctantly patted Rebecca on the head. “You don’t need to worry about that. I don’t make no messes.” Samantha could see a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. He and Rebecca would get along fine. Samantha only worried what might happen to Rebecca when Mr. Pryde went on a fishing trip. If she really wanted to kill herself she would have done it, Samantha thought. She stepped in to pull Rebecca off Mr. Pryde.

  After dinner, Mr. Pryde showed Rebecca to the guest room where she would be staying for as long as she needed. “It ain’t nothing fancy, but it should do,” he said.

  “It’s beautiful. I love it,” Rebecca said, throwing herself onto the bed. Samantha knew then her friend would survive the loss of Molly.

  Samantha told this to Joseph later, who agreed with her. “I think she’s going to like it here,” he said. “You should have seen her in the kitchen. She was like a kid on Christmas morning. It’s hard to believe she could have been depressed.”

  They settled onto Joseph’s bed, wrapping their arms around each other. Samantha felt sleep tugging at her eyelids, but she didn’t want to fall asleep and wake up tomorrow in a crib or motel room without him. She wanted to make sure they stayed together forever.

  “There’s something I need to ask you,” Joseph said.

  “What is it?”

  “The night my mom died there was a woman with her, an older woman.” His voice faltered, his eyes flicking down to the mattress as he said, “It was you, wasn’t it? You were there.”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I remember you told me Mom went to Heaven. I thought you were an angel back then. Now I know I was right.”

  He tried to kiss her, but she held him at bay. “Joe, I’m sorry about your mother. It’s my fault she died. I could have saved her and I didn’t. I failed you.”

  “No, that’s not true. You kept Veronica from killing me. You saved my life that night and—” His voice faltered once again. “And you’ve saved me again over these last three years by making me the happiest person in the world.”

  “Your mother—”

  “My mother would be glad I have you to watch over me. You’re my guardian angel.” He smiled at her. “You know, after you left me with Mrs. Schulman, I told myself if I ever saw anyone that beautiful again I would have to marry her.”

  “Joe, I—”

  “I don’t ever want to be without you again. Marry me.”

  “Now? It’s too soon. We’re too young.”

  “What does age matter? All that’s important is how much we love each other.” He put up a hand and added, “I know it’s a little sudden. We don’t have to do it right away. I’ll wait forever if that’s what it takes.”

  Tears came to her eyes as she said, “I will. I will marry you.” They kissed to seal the pact with the passion of newlyweds. For the rest of the night she held onto him, swearing to keep her promise to Joseph’s mother to take care of him for the rest of her life.

  Epilogue: The Return

  The car stopped at the base of the hill, where the ancient house awaited her. The peeling white paint, the patchwork shingles, and the junk in the front yard had not changed from the last time Samantha had seen the house eight years ago. When she squinted, she could see her and Joseph as teenagers sitting on the front porch, hand-in-hand.

  She pulled into the driveway behind the sedan Joseph had once driven. For a moment she sat in the front seat, letting the memories wash over her. Then she squeezed her belly from beneath the steering wheel and climbed out of the car. She turned to the backseat and told her passenger, “Stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Samantha limped towards the front steps, her ankles swollen and throbbing from the long plane ride and the drive from Bangor to Seabrooke. Her back joined in on the aching; she paused at the front steps to rub her sore muscles. Despite the pain, she smiled with glee at the prospect of coming home.

  She knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. She counted off two full minutes before knocking again. When no one answered after another two minutes, she tried the doorknob. The door was locked.

  Samantha checked her watch: five o’clock. She’d told her they were coming this afternoon. Where had she gone? She probably went out to get something for dinner, Samantha thought. She won’t mind if I let myself in. Samantha needed to sit down soon before her back locked up. Although only two months from her twenty-sixth birthday, her swollen body felt more like a sixty-year-old’s.

  She reached into her short-cropped hair for a pin, hoping her puffy fingers were up to the task after so many years. She inserted the flattened pin into the door lock, wiggling it around until she heard a click. Samantha pushed the door open with a sigh of relief that she still had the touch after all this time.

  She waddled into the front hall, remembering the day of Prudence’s sixteenth birthday when Samantha and Joseph had kissed right here. That day had ended in disaster, but had also led them to find happiness together. If not for Veronica, Samantha might never have gone to California with Joseph. She put both hands on her bulging stomach at the memory of her former best friend.

  From upstairs, she heard the sound of rock music. Either she was home or she had left the stereo on before going out. The pulsing bass shook the walls of the old house, reverberating through Samantha’s head like a jackhammer. The last thing she wanted to do was climb up stairs in this condition, but the loud music had already caused her head to chime in with its own pain.

  She went up the stairs slowly, pausing at each step to rub her back. The music became louder as she neared the top, although the lyrics of the song became no clearer. These kids today, she thought, hating herself for it. In recent months she’d found her brain aging faster than her body, becoming that of the sixty-year-old woman she would be now if she’d never met Reverend Crane twenty years ago.

  At the top of the stairs, she leaned against a wall to catch her breath before going on. She passed Joseph’s old bedroom, still with the Einstein poster on the door. She wanted to go inside there and sink down on the bed they had once shared, where she’d lost her virginity for the second time. First, she needed to turn down that damned music.

  Samantha opened the door to the guest bedroom and bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. Two young women were tangled up in the sheets of the bed, kissing each other like lovers. The pale, chubby flesh of one woman seemed familiar, though not the spiky black hair. Samantha didn’t recognize the Asian girl she was kissing. This Asian girl spotted Samantha in the doorway and scrambled backwards, covering herself with a sheet. The pale girl turned around, what color there was in her cheeks draining away. She reached over to turn off the music. “Hello Samantha,” she said, covering herself with a blanket. “I forgot you were coming today.”

  “Hello Rebecca,” Samantha said. “I, uh, let myself in when no one answered the door.”

  “Oh. This is Callie,” Rebecca said, motioning to her friend. Callie gave a shy wave. “Her parents bought the old Seafarer after Mrs. Milton died. Calli
e, this is my cousin Samantha. She’s the one I told you about.”

  “Beck has said a lot of nice things about you,” Callie said. “It’s nice to finally see you.”

  “It’s good to meet you too,” Samantha said. She felt a brief pang of sadness for old Mrs. Milton, thinking of the day she’d spent there with Miss Brigham twenty years earlier.

  A small hand tugged at the hem of Samantha’s loose-fitting blouse. “Mommy, the car is boring.”

  Samantha scooped the little girl off the floor, ignoring the protests from her back. “I told you to stay in the car,” Samantha said. She turned to Rebecca and Callie. “She takes too much after her mother in getting into trouble. Don’t you?” She tickled the little girl until she giggled. “Say hello to your cousin Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Jackie.”

  “Hello Jackie,” Rebecca said in a small voice.

  “I guess we’d better let you two have a little privacy,” Samantha said. Rebecca only nodded as Samantha closed the door and then carried little Jackie downstairs to the living room. She finally sank down onto the couch and turned on the television, flipping channels until she found an old cartoon to entertain her daughter.

  Callie came downstairs first, her face flushed with embarrassment at having been caught in such a compromising position. “I’m really sorry,” she said to Samantha.

  “It’s no big deal,” Samantha said. “How long have you and Becky been together?”

  “About a year now. She’s a really nice girl.”

  “She is.”

  “I better get going. It was good to meet you.” Callie hurried out of the room before Samantha could say goodbye.

  “Mommy, what were those girls doing?” Jackie asked.

  “They were taking a nap, sweetie.” Her daughter seemed to accept this and went back to watching television. Rebecca came down the stairs a minute later in a faded black T-shirt and jeans. “I’m afraid Callie already left.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll see her later. It’s so good to see you again. Would you like anything to eat or drink? You’re probably tired after that flight.”

  “Some coffee would be nice,” Samantha said. She tilted Jackie’s head towards her, pushing up the little girl’s glasses. “You stay put right here. Don’t move a muscle, all right?”

  “OK, Mommy,” Jackie said.

  Samantha heaved herself off the couch, following Rebecca into the kitchen. As the coffee brewed, Rebecca said, “You didn’t mention anything about her on the phone.”

  “I wanted it to be a surprise,” Samantha said.

  “How old is she?”

  “She’ll be five in November.”

  “I remember when Molly was five—” Rebecca’s voice trailed off. “I still miss her.”

  “We all miss her.” They sat at the table in silence for a moment. Then Samantha cleared her throat and said, “So you and Callie have been seeing each other for a year. It must be getting pretty serious then.”

  Rebecca shrugged. “Not really. We’re just having fun.”

  “I didn’t realize you were that way,” Samantha said, hoping she didn’t sound too prudish. “There’s nothing wrong with it, of course. I think it’s wonderful.”

  “I don’t know if I am or not. For right now I am.” Rebecca stood up to pour two cups of steaming coffee. “How are things with you and Joseph?”

  “Busy, as always. They’ve got him working so many hours I hardly ever see him anymore.” She bit down on her lip to keep a sudden burst of emotion from flaring up. “How about you? How are things at school?”

  “I’m thinking of quitting,” she said. She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “Callie and I were thinking of going abroad for a year. I’d really like to see England to revisit my roots, you know?”

  “What’s Mr. Pryde think of that?”

  “I haven’t told him yet. I haven’t even told him about Callie, although I think he knows. I didn’t want to mention anything until I was sure.”

  “Mr. Pryde won’t have a problem with it, I’m sure. He’s a good man.” She drank from her own mug before asking, “Where is he? Out on another fishing trip?”

  “Yes. It’s getting harder on him I think. He keeps having to go farther and farther out. Before much longer he’ll probably have to start fishing at the North Pole.”

  They both laughed nervously at this. “Joseph keeps telling him to retire, but that’s not his way,” Samantha said.

  After another moment of silence, Rebecca asked, “How long are you and Jackie staying?”

  “Only until the morning. We’re going over to see the others. I need to talk to Prudence about something. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”

  “No, I’m really not ready for that yet.”

  “Becky, you can’t run from it forever. At some point you have to go back and face it.”

  “How far along are you?” Rebecca asked to change the subject, motioning to Samantha’s belly.

  “Seven months. It feels like it’s been a year already.”

  “Did you find out what it is yet?”

  “Joseph wants to, but I’d rather wait. Of course he wants a boy. I think that’s what Jackie wants too so she’ll have a little brother to play with.”

  “What do you want?”

  “A healthy baby. That’s all.” Rebecca nodded in understanding. They finished their coffee in silence and then Rebecca rinsed out the empty mugs.

  “I made up Joseph’s room for you. I can get a cot out for Jackie if you want.”

  “There’s no need to go to any trouble. She’ll be fine with me,” Samantha said. “I better go check on her to make sure she hasn’t gotten into any trouble.”

  In the living room, she found Jackie asleep on the couch, sucking her thumb the way she did as a baby. “Let me,” Rebecca said. With expert precision, she picked Jackie up, cradling the little girl in her arms. She carried Jackie up into Joseph’s room, easing her onto the bed.

  Samantha saw the tears glistening in Rebecca’s eyes as she looked down on Jackie, no doubt thinking of the times she had done this with Molly. Then Rebecca brushed past her on her way out, running down the hall to her bedroom. The music came on again, this time a slow ballad played so low Samantha had to strain to hear it. She wanted to go in to talk with her old friend, but knew there was nothing she could say to make the pain go away.

  Instead, she lay down next to Jackie on the bed, removing her daughter’s glasses and smoothing away her brown hair to kiss her on the forehead, the way she had Molly and Veronica during those three vanished years. Her daughter twitched for a moment, but didn’t wake up. Samantha pulled the blankets up to cover them both and then rested a hand on her stomach. The child within her kicked, bringing a sad smile to her face. The pain never went away fully, but life went on and with it another chance for happiness. She hoped Rebecca would see this one day.

  ***

  Jackie had inherited Samantha’s fear of the water. “Are you sure this is safe, Mommy?” she asked on the dock.

  “It’s perfectly safe. I used to do this all the time,” she said. She looked over at Rebecca. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

  “I’d better not. I promised Callie we’d go into Bangor tonight. There’s a great new club opening up we’re going to try getting into,” Rebecca said.

  Samantha thought of the nightclub in Chicago where she’d met Andre again. Maybe Rebecca would find the love of her life walking through the door. “Just stay out of trouble. There won’t be anyone to bail you out of prison,” Samantha said.

  “I will. See you on the way back.”

  “Cousin Rebecca seems nice,” Jackie said.

  “She’s very nice. Here, put on your lifejacket.” Unlike Veronica and Molly, Jackie didn’t make any fuss about putting on her lifejacket. From her father she’d inherited allergy problems that flared up worst in the morning; Samantha wiped at her daughter’s nose with a handkerchief, helping her blow her nose. Once Jackie could breat
he again, Samantha helped her into the little boat she and Rebecca had used to leave Eternity eight years earlier. Mr. Pryde maintained the boat in her absence for whenever Samantha or Rebecca decided to go back.

  Jackie’s cappuccino-colored skin turned green at the edges once they got underway. Samantha took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Everything will be all right, sweetie,” she said.

  “Where are we going, Mommy?”

  “We’re going to Eternity. That’s where your Aunt Prudence and Uncle Wendell live with all your other cousins. It’s a very nice place with lots of trees and grass for you to play in.”

  Jackie sniffled at this, not convinced how wonderful Eternity would be. “Is that where you lived when you were a little girl?” she asked.

  “That’s right, sweetie. I started living there when I wasn’t much older than you,” Samantha said. This was a slight exaggeration, but she and Joseph had promised each other before Jackie was born not to burden their offspring with any knowledge of the Fountain of Youth. As far as Jackie knew, Samantha had gone to Eternity when she was five and stayed there until she was seventeen, when she left with Daddy for California. Her life before that would never exist to her daughter. Nor to any legal authorities, who believed her to be Samantha Young, born in 1994, parents unknown.

  “And Aunt Prudence lived there too?”

  “That’s right. And cousin Rebecca and all your other cousins. We were all children together.”

  “Then who were your mommies and daddies?”

  “We didn’t have any, sweetie. There was a very nice woman named Molly who helped take of us when we were little. Later on we took care of ourselves.”

  Jackie blew her nose into the handkerchief. “Was it scary?” she asked.

  “Sometimes. Most of the time it was fun.” She thought of running through the meadow with Prudence, playing a game of tag on a golden summer day. A tear came to her eye at the thought those days were truly gone forever now. She bit down on her lip to keep the emotion at bay in front of Jackie.