by Kara Jimenez
He lifted a slice to his mouth and took a bite, nodding his head back and forth like he considered it. “Okay, it’s good, but you’re going to let me choose my own food sometimes, right?”
She laughed. “Sometimes, I guess.”
Kate passed, carrying a basket of breadsticks toward a rambunctious family in the far corner. She turned to face Bianca and widened her eyes, nodding discreetly toward the whining toddler.
Bianca stifled a giggle and instead settled for a polite shrug. Kate had no idea what she was in for if she thought that was bad. Of course, parenting, or pseudo-parenting as she did, was probably something you could never really be prepared for.
She turned back toward Levi. “I have a bunch more questions for you.”
“I figured. It’s not like all this can be wrapped into a nice little summary.” He took another bite.
“I’ve been wondering, have you been in Corvallis this whole time?” She lowered her voice. “For all one hundred eighty years, I mean.”
He shook his head and leaned in closer. “I can usually stick around for a few years, but after that, if someone gets to know me too well I have to leave for a while.”
“But then who watches over the tree to make sure no one else gets the apples?”
“They only grow in the fall. The rest of the year, it’s just a normal tree and completely harmless. Some years, I go elsewhere and then come back in the fall and stay in my cabin where I won’t run into anyone. I don’t have any neighbors and I don’t normally tell people where I live.”
She pulled a napkin out of the dispenser, wiped her mouth and then twisted it around her fingers, untwisted it, and twisted again. “I guess you can’t usually get close to anyone then.”
He nodded and reached across the table to take her hand. “You’re the first person to know about me that hasn’t eaten an apple themselves.”
“Maybe I should eat one.” She focused on the pizza in front of her, heart pounding. The idea had been in her head all morning, but she’d been unable to voice it until now.
His eyes grew wide and he dropped her hand to lean back in his chair and cross his arms. “No way.” He shook his head. “I am not going to let you do that.”
“But I—”
“Someone will die!” He pounded his fist on the table and then leaned toward her, his voice hushed and urgent. “Someone you love.”
She scanned the parlor, afraid someone might have heard him, but the other customers continued with their own conversations after only a quick glance at them. “But, I love you and you can’t die.”
He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “It’s too risky. I don’t know how it works. I owe that tree my life many times over. What if you eat one and it kills me anyway? What if it skips over me and kills Owen?”
Bianca bit the inside of her lip. Of course, she didn’t want either one of those things to happen.
“I’d risk my life for you to be immortal, if that’s what you really wanted. Although, living forever is not a great as it sounds.” His brows furrowed. “But I know it would tear you apart if something happened to Owen.”
She sighed. “You’re right… I just hate the idea of having to grow old and leave you someday.”
He stood and walked around to the other side of the table, sitting down in the seat next to hers and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I wish you didn’t have to feel like this. I want to be a normal man for you, give you a normal life.” His hand slid down her arm and up again. “It’s not ideal, but we can try to make the best of this… if you’re willing?”
She stared at his face, momentarily distracted by the rolling ocean of his stunning gray eyes. “I’m more than willing.”
A child’s cry broke the moment. She turned and found a small girl of about five standing by the fireplace wearing a pink tutu and a panicked expression.
Bianca smiled at Levi and walked over to the girl, kneeling to her level. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
The girl sniffed. “I can’t find my mom!”
Bianca took her hand. “I’ll help you find her. Do you remember what she wore today?” She led the girl back to the row of tables overlooking the playground, where they found her grateful mother and then she returned to Levi.
“That was nice of you.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes and lifted a slice of pizza.
She shrugged, her gaze running up and down his face. “You seem upset. What’s wrong?”
He shook his head and cleared his throat. “It’s nothing. Tell me about your shift so far. Was it busy?”
“Ugh, it was terrible. Kate and I kept messing up.”
His mouth curled into a smile. “Why is that? Does something have you distracted?” He gave her an innocent look.
A giggle escaped her chest. “Yes. A handsome man appeared at my house this morning talking about white dresses and tall cakes.”
“Interesting.” His eyebrows rose. “And what did you say to him?”
“I said he was crazy.” She gave him a wide grin and then took a bite of her pizza.
“Indeed, he must be crazy. Crazy about you. But what had Kate so distracted? Did you tell you her about our plans?”
She shook her head. “No, not yet. Kate has her own issues to deal with right now.” The alarm on her cell phone went off. “That means my time’s up. I have to go back to work.”
He nodded and stood. “I’ll see you after work then. I’ll pick you up.” Stepping toward her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a gentle kiss.
She groaned. “Why did we waste so much time talking? We should’ve been kissing.”
A deep chuckle broke through his lips. “We don’t want to gross everyone out.” He nodded toward the kitchen, where Kate and Faustino stood watching. “Besides, we’ll have plenty of time for that tonight.”
She shivered and clutched him tighter. “I can’t wait.”
Levi sat in the driver’s seat of his pickup, parked in the corner of the grocery store parking lot. He’d just finished his errands and he had a few minutes before Bianca got off work. The rain trickled down the windshield, running in little lines across the glass.
In his hand he held a little black box. Inside sat the ring he’d picked out that morning for Bianca. He lifted it between his thumb and index finger, examining the handiwork. A white pearl and gray pearl sat opposite each other surrounded by a delicate floral pattern of white gold and diamonds. As soon as he’d seen it in the display case, he’d known it was the one. Just like he knew Bianca was the one, the only girl he’d ever love.
His eyes squeezed shut as he tried to block the images of her with the little girl at Papa’s. He’d let his own selfishness get in the way when he’d rushed to ask her to marry him. It wouldn’t be right for her. His head dropped to rest on the steering wheel. He couldn’t go through with this. He couldn’t marry her. He sighed, his heart filled with a million heavy stones and placed the ring back in the box, closing it.
Bianca grabbed her leather bag from the back room and then sat on a long wooden bench at the front of the parlor, waiting for Levi. She pulled the band from her hair, shaking it loose around her shoulders.
His truck pulled into the parking lot and rolled to the front door. She hopped up, practically skipping out to his vehicle with a huge smile on her face.
When she opened the door, the look on his face caught her off guard. Her heart deflated like a popped balloon.
He smiled, but not the way he usually did, not with joy radiating off him. What’d she done? She thought of a million questions, but none of them would leave her tongue. They drove in silence the short distance back to her apartment, with only the sound of the squeaking windshield wipers.
The truck slowed to a stop on the curb and Levi turned to her. “Is your mom inside? I need to talk to you. Maybe it’d be best if we just talked here.”
“Okay, talk.” She crossed her arms.
He took a deep breath, fiddling with a string hanging
from the threading on the steering wheel. “I love you, Bianca, but you’re right. We rushed into this. I didn’t think it through. I can’t marry you.”
The air in the small cab grew heavy and her lungs struggled to breathe. She avoided his eyes, focusing on the buttons along the door that opened the windows. “Fine… awesome. Way to take a great thing we had and just squash it under your shoe.” Her jaw clenched and she silently cursed herself for being so stupid. “We could have just kept hanging out, but you’re the one who wanted to get married. You suggested it.” She grabbed the door handle and yanked the door open.
“Wait!” Levi reached his arm toward her, but she’d already stepped out into the rain. “Let me explain!” He opened his own door, jogging around the front of the truck to catch her before she started down the stone path.
She turned and her gaze darted over his face. The rain soaked into his hair turning it a dark chocolate color. Why did he have to look so sexy right now? It killed her.
“Let me explain,” he said again.
She crossed her arms. “Explain then.”
“I want you for myself, more than anything, but it’s not fair to you. You should have a normal life and I can’t give you that.”
She nodded. “I tried to tell you, you wouldn’t want me when I grew old. I’m glad the idea finally sunk in.”
He grabbed her hand. The corners of his eyes dropped and his lips quivered. “And I told you, I will always want you, but I can’t give you what you need. I can’t have children. And you want to be a mother.”
She stepped back and her brows furrowed. “How do you know you can’t have children? Is it from the apples?”
“Let’s get out of the rain. Your arms are covered in goose bumps.” He nodded to the truck. “Then I’ll explain.”
It was stupid of her to think she could just get engaged to a guy she still barely knew. Completely crazy, and she was paying for it. She nodded and followed him to the pickup.
Back in the truck cab, Levi turned to her. “I should have told you before, but it just never came up… and I was afraid of your reaction. I’ve been married before.” His head pointed down and he twisted his fingers.
Bianca closed her eyes. She should’ve known. He’d been alive for-friggin’-ever, of course there’d been other women. It just wasn’t something she’d wanted to think about. “And you two, were never able to have…”
He shook his head. “No, but first, I want you know, I never loved her like I love you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “How could you marry someone you didn’t love?”
He sighed. “I needed a wife. There weren’t a lot of women to choose from and everyone assured me that she was the best choice… I did care about her. I wanted to be a good husband.” He turned his head, watching something out the window. “We were more like friends and not very good friends.”
She sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. “How do you know she wasn’t the one who couldn’t have a baby?”
“Because none of the people I know who’ve eaten an apple had kids afterward. My friends, Wiley and Margaret, lost two children because of the curse and they tried for years after to have another one. I think we’re… frozen.”
She bit her lip and focused on the raindrops streaming down the windshield. “I have Owen—”
“No, don’t say you don’t care, because I know you do. I know you want to be a mother and you’d make a great mother. The greatest... I can’t take that from you.” Levi finally turned to look at her.
“We could adopt—”
“Too risky for me.”
Bianca closed her eyes. How had things fallen apart so quickly? “I should go then.” She opened the door, taking one last look at him.
His bloodshot eyes watched her as he squeezed the steering wheel.
She jumped out and slammed the door before her tears began to fall, mixing with the rain on her face.
Bianca entered her apartment, trudged upstairs and took off her uniform, throwing it on the floor. Why bother keeping things clean when her heart was broken? She pulled open the dresser, shoved her lacy tanks aside and grabbed an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, then plopped down on the bed and brought the covers up over her shoulders. Damn Levi and his reversible marriage proposal. Her knees pressed against her stomach as a sob tore through her.
In the morning, noises of her mother making breakfast for Owen drifted into her room. It sounded like everything was being cared for downstairs, no point in getting out of bed. Instead, she laid with her head on the pillow, stared at the plaster bumps on the ceiling and blinked, her eyelids scratchy and irritated.
Her mother poked her head in the door around noon. “You okay in here, Bee?”
She made a non-committal grunt.
Her mother leaned against the door and narrowed her eyes. “Oookay, do you need anything?”
The words, No, go away, left her tongue, but it came out as just another grunt.
“Right.” Her mother crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Bianca’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Bianca shook her head. What was she doing? Lying around all day was exactly what her mother would do and she wasn’t her mother. Not if she could help it. She rubbed her forehead and sat up, finding her voice. “I’m a little upset, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Her mother nodded and stood. “Okay, just let me know if you do.” She hovered for moment, like she wanted to say something else, but then turned and left the room.
Bianca took a deep breath, swinging her feet down onto the carpet. So, she wouldn’t be marrying a wonderful man like Levi, she’d get over it. She clenched her jaw and grabbed her hairbrush off the dresser, throwing it across the room.
Her eyes squeezed shut and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. That was so uncalled for. Pull it together. She retrieved the brush and set it on the dresser and then bent to clean up the clothes she’d tossed on the floor the night before.
Levi filled the hanging silver basket with chicken feed then stood with his arms crossed, watching the hens peck around the yard. He hadn’t wanted to get off the couch, but living things depended on him. The fresh air refreshed his skin, but irritated his heart. He didn’t want to feel good, he wanted to sit on the couch and wallow in misery.
This was best, though. It wouldn’t do either one of them any good to enter into a marriage that would only lead to resentment and regret in a few years when the initial tingles wore off and she realized what she gave up.
A yellow hen approached, pecking his boot. He gave his foot a gentle swing to get it off. What was Bianca doing today? Hopefully, she’d eventually get on with her life. He should’ve just left her alone after he confirmed she hadn’t eaten a red apple, saving them both a lot of heartache.
He sighed and walked around to the front of the house. A deep groove remained in the gravel where Peter’s car squealed out on his last visit. Levi’s nostrils flared and he kicked the rocks, trying to refill the hole.
Peter! With all the drama between him and Bianca, he’d almost forgotten about his cousin’s threats. He gave the gravel a harder kick. How was he supposed to protect her if they weren’t together?
He stomped up the porch and sat on the top step with his head between his hands. The only way to really protect her would be to cut down the tree. And that might kill him, but then again, what was the point of life without someone to share it with? He rubbed his left hand where a ring would have gone.
If they all survived the destruction of the tree, he could finally tell Peter and his father the root of the curse. At that point there’d be nothing they could do about it and they’d have no reason to bother Bianca.
He ran his hand through his hair, the idea solidifying in his mind. Peter and Uncle Charles would be pissed and probably kill him, then he’d come back to life and kill them. But, eventually, they’d have to get past it.
Relieved to have a plan, he stood and walked i
nside.
The next day, Bianca stretched herself across the couch and flipped through channels, starring at the TV, but comprehending nothing. Maybe she should call Stephanie. She sighed. So much happened since the last time they’d talked and she was exhausted just thinking about explaining it all.
Her mother came and sat beside her. “Bee, can I talk to you for a minute?”
She’d rather slam her head against a brick wall, but she found herself nodding anyway.
“I know you’re not in a very good mood right now, but I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve been trying really hard the last week to be a good mother. So, since you’re having a hard time right now, I just wanted to tell you, it’s okay. You always pick up my slack around here and it’s time I pulled my head out of my butt.” Her hand patted Bianca’s leg. “You just watch TV, I’ll take care of everything.”
Bianca sighed. “That’s great mom… really.” She tried to smile, but she only got halfway. It was good news, she just couldn’t seem to summon the proper level of enthusiasm.
“Okay.” Her mother stood. “Good talk.” She returned to the kitchen.
Bianca continued to flip through the channels. It was just her luck that her mother would decide she didn’t need her anymore, exactly when she had no one else. Well, except Steph. She rubbed her face between her palms and then grabbed her laptop from the top of the TV stand, opened it on the coffee table and clicked on her email.
Junk, junk and more junk.
A message from her dad caught her eye. She clicked it open and found herself staring at a photograph of a tiny baby boy with the same brown eyes as hers. Her new brother. Everyone was having babies. Was this some sort of cruel joke from the universe?
A knock at the door made her jump. She rolled her eyes and plopped her head back down on the couch cushion, planning to ignore the door.
Her mother, on the other hand, skipped over and pulled it open with a smile on her face.
“Good afternoon, my dear,” said a smooth, rich voice from the porch.
