Soulshine

by J W Rocque

of that before.”

  “Accused? An angel is the best thing a person can ask for.

  You have showed me that my present and my future are both

  brighter than my past, and that God does not want me to dwell on

  the hurts of the past nor the way I"ve hurt others because of what

  happened to me.”

  “Well, I"m glad you see that because it is true and I have

  been trying to tell you that… but an angel? Look… if I am your

  guardian angel then why would I be sitting with Bryan Moore,

  drinking lime water in a jazz club? Wouldn"t I be following you

  around town? You were the one who followed me.”

  “I can"t explain how God moves. Maybe the angels can"t

  either.”

  “Jean… I"d rather you didn"t think of me as some celestial

  being. I… I"m really not.”

  “Then why don"t you age? You"re kind and gentle, yet you

  remained the samefor six years… and who knows how long

  before that? You said that you were thirty when you came into my

  life, yet you looked closer to twenty even then… and still do now!” “Yeah… and I also said that I worked in the theater when I

  was in college. Angels don"t go to college, and angels probably

  also do not lie… so I"m either a human being who is the age I say I

  am, or I"m a lying angel. In the latter case, you can"t trust me, can

  you?”

  “I… I don"t know. You"re confusing me. You could be

  telling the truth, but I thought for sure that you"re an angel.” “Well, if I am then I lied. Does that fit in with your

  theology?”

  “I guess not. Well… I"m glad that you"re human then… if

  it means you"ll always be my friend. Others have left me, so I have always left men before they found out about me and left me

  first.”

  “If I may change the subject… you look wonderful

  tonight.”

  “Thank you,” said Jean with a skeptical smile and laugh. “Listen… as your personal… uh… humanangel… may I

  suggest the best way I know for you to overcome all your fears?” “Sure.”

  “Bryan will be leaving on Saturday to go to New

  Brunswick. I will be alone at the apartment. Come on over and

  spend the night with me.”

  Jean put up her guard. “Well… now I knowthat you"re not

  an angel or you wouldn"t have suggested something like that.” “No… I"m hopelessly, yet delightfully human. So what do

  you say? Jean… you are over forty. What is the harm in being

  with a friend?”

  “I… I can"t. It"s not right.”

  “What if I told you that I stopped aging when I decided to

  cast away my worries, and you can too?” Eric thought about how

  corny that sounded… not to mention untrue. But ever since

  meeting Jean, he wondered if the remainder of the elixir was meant

  for her… to restore what had been robbed in her past.

  Jean gave Eric a confused expression. “Let"s just go eat the

  cookies, have some coffee, and take it slow, okay?”

  Eric wondered if it were possible for him to wait much

  longer. Jean was already trying to justify the widening difference

  in their appearances. “Sure, Jean. That… sounds just perfect.”

  Everyone who attended Michelle"s fifth birthday party was having a good time. The Flemings invited the extended family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. “Do you like yourcake,” asked Mary?

  “Yes,” said Michelle. “You remembered my favorite frosting, Mommy.” John laughed as he looked at the frosting around his daughter"s mouth. “It also looks like Michelle has a favorite birthday present as well as favorite frosting.”

  “Yes,” said Mary. “Who gave her those particular dolls? It was you, wasn"t it?” she asked her sister. “She won"t put down the boy doll.”

  “That"s because I am marrying him, Mommy.” John shuddered. “Oh, please. Let"s not rush things. I"m not ready to think about walking my little girl down the aisle quite yet.”

  Mary and Aunt Clarice smiled at how she clung to the doll. “It"s cute how she makes believe,” said Clarice.

  “But Auntie, I"m not making believe. I"m just practicing. He will really be here someday. He just lives far away right now… but I know he will be here someday. He just hasn"t met me yet.”

  August, 1972 The train pulled into Grand Central Station with Evan fast asleep. Michelle had wanted to catch some sleep but could not get the thought of never seeing her parents again out of her head. She needed to awaken Evan, but before she did she took the time to gaze at him. He’s so handsome. I can’t believe he’s over two thousand years old. I remember when I thought he was close to twenty, and I was afraid he wouldn’t like me. It’s amazing that he loves me so much… and I love him.

  “Hey, cutie. Don"t wake him up. Hop off the train with me instead. We can go someplace real special.”

  Michelle looked up and saw three young men, around eighteen to twenty years of age, staring at her. The one who spoke gave her the creeps as the other two just smiled and stared, also giving her the willies. “Sorry… I"m with him.”

  The young men smiled wider and the provoker spoke again. “Is he your boyfriend or something? And he"s sleeping with a cutie like you by his side? Man, I"d be all over you. Come on… let me show you a good time.”

  Michelle was repulsed. “Evan… wake up. We"re here.”

  “Evan? What kind of name is Evan? That doesn"t sound like the name of a guy who would know what to do with a cutie like you.”

  As Evan started to stir, Michelle lashed out at her provoker. “By the sound of things, I would say that you don"t know the first thing about how to treat a lady.”

  “Sorry, cutie, but you are no lady. What are you… twelve years old? Does your mommy and daddy know about Evan? Oh… I get it. He"s gay, right? That"s why mommy and daddy let you ride the choo-choo train withhim?”

  A priest happened by in the crowd of people exiting the train. “Excuse me. I couldn"t help but overhear. Listen, young men… I suggest you move along and leave the young girl alone. It is not rightto harass her in this manner.” The priest then looked down as Evan looked up at the four men gathered near him as he sat on the aisle seat. “Young girl… is this man bothering you too?”

  “Nah, he"s gay,” laughed the provoker and his friends as they walked away.

  “Oh no,sir. He"s the most wonderful m an I ever met in my life. We"re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

  The priest raised an eyebrow. “You"re married?”

  “Yes,” said Evan. “That is to say… we willbe married.”

  The priest cleared his throat. “Do you have any family, young girl? I hardly approve of someone your age getting married… regardless of how wonderful you find this young man.”

  Michelle got indignant. “I happen to be eighteen… and Evan and I have been seeing each other for five years. I don"t think we need your approval.”

  The priest did not believe her when she said she was eighteen but did not want to call her a liar.“You will have a hard time finding a priest who will give his approval to join you two together. What about your parents or guardians? Do they approve?”

  “They approve of Evan… yes.” Then she wondered if they really would approve of her traveling off for good with Evan.

  Evan interrupted. “Look… uh… Father it is, right? Father, we appreciate you handling those skanky boys while I was asleep. But I can assure you that sheand I are very much in love.”

  The priest sighed as he addressed Michelle. “As long as everything is okay with you, I"ll be off now.” Then he lowered his voice so only Michelle and Evan could hear it, though he was clearly looking into Michelle"s eyes. “If you
are being forced to do anything against your will and need any help, let me know before I go, will you? I promise that I will make sure that you are safe.”

  “I"m fine, Father… and I"ll show you my birth certificate if you don"t believe that I"m eighteen.”

  “No, that"s fine,” said the priest. “I believe you.” Then he went on his way.

  Evan and Michelle also rose and exited the train. “Evan… this is going to keep happening… people questioning us. Tell me again why you had to keep me looking like I"m thirteen?”

  Evan smiled. “I"ll be happy to tell you every single day for the next thousand years, my dear, just so you"ll always hear it. For most of my life I determined that I would preserve the one who was meant for me as soon as I knew it to be true. I knew, my love, that you were the one when you were thirteen. Just like I will always remind you of the image of your first love, so shall you always likewiseremind me. Poetic, isn"t it?”

  Michelle shook her head in wonderment. “I think I may need to hear it every day for the next thousand years… and yes, I do think it"s sweet… but I also think life would have been easier for us if you let me grow a little more.”

  “Who would have thought that such a young girl would win my heart?” Evan then embraced her and they engaged in a lengthy kiss as passersby stopped to stare. From that point onward, neither of them cared any longer.

  December 13, 1983 After a hectic afternoon, Linda finally made it to her office, where Frank and Hugo were waiting for her. “Oh, God. I thought I was finally going to get the preparations made for Evan Troy"s transfer. Now I just heard that Michelle Fleming is pregnant?”

  Frank nodded. “Yes… that caught us by surprise. Can this situation get any crazier?”

  “You"re telling me,” said Linda. “I wish we could prove how old that girl is. There is no way that she"s pushing thirty. Still… she"s been through so much with her boyfriend.”

  “We"ve spent so much time treating Evan Troy,” said Hugo before pausing. “Do you think he really isher boyfriend… or do you think he kidnapped her and forced her to drive, they got into an accident, and he may have threatened her to keep quiet?”

  Linda shook her head. “That girl is in love, gentlemen. Believe me. I know the look. Those tears are real. She"s not afraid ofhim. She"s afraid to losehim.”

  “Yes… yes… I suppose you"re right.”

  “I don"t know what exactly is going on with those two, but if they are doing anything illegal, they aren"t hurting anybody. I"m pulling for them. I just hope that Fletcher University isn"t going to reject Evan because of his having no identification.”

  “He talks as if his mind is fuzzy. He may have amnesia,” offered Frank.

  The phone rang. “Excuse me,” said Linda as she picked it up. “Hello… Linda Sherman.”

  “Ms. Sherman, this is Stuart Williams.”

  “Stuart… how are you?”

  “Doing well, thank you. I"m calling about the arrangements for Evan Troy.”

  “Yes, it"s been crazy here for the past day. I"m still getting all the paperwork and records together so it will be ready when the patient is transported tomorrow.”

  “Well, if you could use more time, I may have some good news for you then. I originally hated to ask this of you, but… could we delay the pickup another day?”

  Linda looked at her calendar. “Thursday?”

  “Yes… we should be able to get there in the morning on Thursday. I"m sorry for the delay. The doctors who will be attending to Mr. Troy are also teachers here at the university, and they are attending a mandatory faculty meeting tomorrow, which makes us unprepared to adequately treat the patient. But from the sound of it, you may appreciate the extra time… and I trust the patient is still in capable hands?”

  “Well, yes he is,” said Linda, “but despite my hectic schedule, Mr. Troy"s condition is in dire need of better facilities.”

  A moment of silence ensued. “I understand. Look… we can definitely get there first thing that morning. The time delay will be less than twentyfour hours. I"m sorry. We completely forgot about the faculty meeting… and we have all the other doctors" schedules to consider.”

  Linda sighed and looked up at Frank. “Is first thing Thursday morning okay for transporting Evan Troy?”

  Frank looked at Hugo and then hesaid, “If it has to do…”

  “Fine,” said Linda to Stuart. “Thursdaymorning it is.”

  “Thanks for your understanding. Well, I also have plenty of work to do. I"ll talk to you later.”

  Linda hung up the phone and looked at the two doctors. “Oh well… things just got crazier. So what can I do for you?”

  “We just want to let you know that we both need to get some sleep. We"ll be available on call throughout the night, and now it looks like we"ll have another busy day monitoring Evan Troy tomorrow,” said Frank.

  “Yes. I take it there"s not much change in Evan?”

  “No positive change. The nurses are working around the clock keeping him comfortable, minimizing his blood loss and monitoring his vitals.”

  “Hopefully it"s not a death watch for the poor guy,” said Hugo. “I can"t hope but grieve as I marvel at what"s happening with him. Yet I got the strangest call earlier this morning.”

  “Who was it that called you?” asked Linda.

  “Some monk by the name of Hawkings. He called himself Brother Hawkings. He said that he wanted to take Evan Troy into his care. He was quite insistent. It seems that they have this cloister where he feels that he can cure him.”

  “That is curious. I wonder how he found out about our patient. He must be very local. Did he say where this cloister is located?”

  “No… and I didn"t think to ask. I was too busy explaining to him the reasons why we could not release the patient to him.”

  Linda looked to the ceiling and put her hand up to her chin.

  “Linda? What are you thinking about?” asked Frank.

  Linda looked back at the two doctors. “What did Hawkings sound like? His voice… I mean.”

  Hugo shrugged. “It was somewhat distinctive… not like what you normally hear in Ontario or Quebec… just different. Why?”

  Linda scratched her head. “It"s just that when I talked to Stuart Williams over at Fletcher just now… he didn"t quite sound like the man I talked to earlier in the week… but he sounded more American than Canadian. Iwas just wondering… the timing of the two calls and they both involved making arrangements for Evan Troy.”

  “Hawkings is definitely notfrom the States.”

  “Don"t mind me,” said Linda. “I"m just very tired.”

  April, 1959 “These cookies are very good, Jean,” said Eric as he sat back in a comfortable chair in Jean"s apartment.

  “That"s about all I can bake well.”

  “Are you just being modest?”

  “I"m being truthful,” said Jean as she sat down in the chair next to Eric.

  “It"s nice to see you relax, Jean.”

  “You mean you don"t like the tense Jean?” she said with a smile.

  “I like all the Jeans,” said Eric with a laugh.

  Jean laughed. “You know… there"s only one guy I always feel relaxed around.”

  “Hmmm… that would notbe me, would it?”

  “No… but I"m trying.”

  “So who isthe lucky guy?”

  “I don"t know that I"d call him the luckyguy, but it"s Bryan.”

  Eric raised an eyebrow. “Do you like Bryan?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I mean… do you likeBryan?”

  Jean pressed her lips together before answering. “I like you. That"s why I"m more comfortable around Bryan.”

  “Well, Bryan"s a good, thoughtful guy. I see possibilities there.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “Are you trying to drive me nuts?”

  “Oh, I wish I knew what I wanted.”

  “You do know what you want. You just don"t want to gi
ve it to yourself.”

  “You see? Bryan wouldn"t get philosophical like that. The same thing goes with religion. You come at it from a philosophical angle, while Bryan just doesn"t question my beliefs.”

  “You mean Bryan doesn"t challengeyour beliefs. Oops… there I go again,” laughed Eric. “Seriously… would you like me to tell you what Iwant.”

  “Sure.”

  “Only if you tell me what youwant afterwards.”

  “I just told you that I don"t know.”

  “Then tell me what you think you might want, and then I"ll…”

  “You"ll analyze my mind. We"ll see. So go ahead… tell me what youwant?”

  “Very well. I"ve done a lot of traveling in my… uh…”

  “Thirty six years?”

  “Uh… right.”

  “And you still look none the worse for wear… amazing.”

  “You don"t believe me, do you?”

  Jean looked him over closely. “Nope.”

  Eric gave Jean a guilty smirk. “Okay… the truth.” He took a deep breath. “When I first came into Grand Central Station six years ago and met Bryan, I figured that he may know someone in the theater business, so… I sort of… exaggerated my age to make it look like I had more theater experience under my belt than I did in fact have.”

  “I knew you weren"t thirty when I first met you.”

  “Yeah… and Bryan probably saw right through it too.”

  “Bryan believes people. He has to in order to interview people for magazine articles. So… you were saying that you have done a lot of traveling in your… how many years?”

  “Uh… many. The point is that I have met many people, and I have always been drawn to the soft-spoken, unassuming types of people… be they male or female, it doesn"t matter. But in order for me to truly enjoy them, they must be carefree and spontaneous also. Bryan sort of satisfies all those qualities, which is why I"m able to enjoy rooming with him, but it would be wonderful to find a woman with those qualities. You possess the first two of the four qualities. Sometimes I see the latter two starting to come out, and I want to encourage you to be carefree and spontaneous more often. Actually, your wit is quite spontaneous sometimes.”

  “So that"s what you want… a woman who is soft-spoken, unassuming, carefree and spontaneous. And you think that I have a chance to be all those things?”