by J W Rocque
“I will produce only what you asked for and make certain that you get all of it,” reiterated Guillaume.
“Excellent,” said Philippe with a hearty laugh. “I owe you, my friend.”
Michelle hurried into the restaurant where she and Philippe had been the day before. She excused herself as she brushed past the line of patrons waiting to be seated. “Excuse me… I seem to have lost something and I wondered if I left it here.”
“What would that be?” replied the hostess.
“It"s a small bottle… similar to a man"s after shave bottle.” “What did it have in it?”
“Nothing… it was empty except for a little bit of… lotion.” “I can ask… but it does not seem like much of a loss.” The
hostess appeared agitated at the intrusion over a simple matter. “I am sorry to bother you. It"s just that the bottle that
contained the lotion was in my family for years.”
“I see. Usually, anything found that is thought to be of any
significant value is placed behind this podium. I see nothing here.” “Thanks for checking. I… really didn"t think I removed it
from my purse when I was here yesterday. I"m just trying to
retrace my steps.”
“Well… have a good day, mademoiselle.”
Evan arrived in Providence on schedule and was relieved to
be off the plane, though he had to admit that the short trip was not
as bad as he feared. I think I could get used to taking even longer
trips, if my quest makes it necessary. He boarded the bus to
Riverside and got off at Crescent Park… only instead of the
amusement park, he saw rows of condominiums. The carousel was
refurbished, but attendance was sparse and the music did not seem
the same without the background carnival sounds that he
remembered from over thirty years ago.
He walked slowly toward Grove Street, hoping to find his
beloved Michelle. A myriad of thoughts went through his head.
Should I let her see me like this? I just have to find out if she is
here. Are her parents still alive? If they are alive, do they still live
here? Will anyone recognize me? Do I want anyone to recognize
me… save for Michelle?
As Michelle was heading out the door, she met Philippe as he was entering the restaurant. “Well, well,” said Philippe, “What a pleasant surprise... meeting you inside our favorite restaurant. You did not leave the country.”
“No… I… misplaced something and hoped I could find it here.”
“You misplaced something? Why… you were hardly here long enough with me yesterday. What did you lose?”
“It was just a little bottle. I liked to reuse it for different perfumes.”
“Ah… would you like me to buy you some French perfume in a nice decorative bottle? It would be my pleasure.”
“No, thank you… it"s alright.” As Michelle moved to go outside, Philippe walked out with her.
“So… would I be correct in saying that you have changed your mind about leaving France due to something like… the lack of a current passport, perhaps?” asked Philippe smugly.
Michelle froze. “Why do you think that?”
“I know more about you than you think, Michelle, my dear. I also do not believe that you have a fiancé outside the country, for what man would be foolish enough to leave someone as adorable as you behind in your condition?”
Michelle kept silent, not knowing what to answer.
“But then again,” continued Philippe, “the father of your child has been away for years, has he not? He knew you much longer than six weeks ago, did he not?”
“What do you know?” asked Michelle nervously.
“What do I know? I know that I love you madly…” he replied as he pulled her petite body into his. “…madly enough to promise you that I will stay with you for as long as you will live… and you do plan living for a long time, do you not?... an immortal alluring nymphet longing for everlasting love… one that will never grow old and die.”
Michelle could only look straight up at him in shock as she was caught in his embrace. “You… stole the bottle.”
“I stole nothing. After you left in a hurry yesterday, I did pick up a small bottle off the carpet. I thought it to be a cordial so I drank it.”
“There… wasn"t enoughto drink. There"s not enough of it in you to stop you from aging, Philippe.You"re just going to grow old and die like everyone else.”
“Ah… so the bottle did contain the elixir of everlasting life… and in our case… everlasting happiness.”
“But there wasn"t enough… there couldn’t have been enough in that bottle to affect you in that way. Evan left instructions for me to get it analyzed. I just never had a reason to want to do it.”
“Is Evanyour fiancé… the father of your baby? And he left instructions, did he? To me, that implies that he is deceased, am I right?” Michelle just stared at him while her eyes watered. “No, my dear… there was not enough elixir… which is why yesterday I took the liberty of having it analyzed to manufacture some more… so I could have a nice big helping for myself. I think we should celebrate. How about a walk along La Riviera followed by a romantic evening back at my place?”
“That bottle couldn’t have dropped onto the carpet in the restaurant. It was always kept at the bottom of my purse. It wouldn’t have just fallen out. You stoleit from me when I wasn"t looking… when I went to the ladies" room, didn’t you?”
“Does it really matter,Michelle?”
“Yes, it does. I trusted you as a friend.”
“Now trust me as your lover.”
“Philippe, I don"t wantto love anyone. I"m pregnant.”
“Yes… and the child will need a father someday. In the meantime, I will satisfy your every need. After all, you are only six weeksalong,” he said with a wink. “We can make love for many, many more weeks before you start to show.”
“I… don"t want to. That bottle did not fall out onto the carpet. You tookit. I don"t trust you, Philippe.”
“Michelle...darling… there are unsavory characters, who are part of a worldwide network, who have also taken the same elixir. These men are after you and the elixir. Not only that, my dear, but they are also under the misconception that they own me and can tell me what to do because of services rendered.”
“What did they do for you?”
“Not much… really. I was on vacation in Greece a few years back and needed medical attention. I was far from a hospital so they offered to take care of me. They have a cell group in North America who happened to be searching for a pretty young girl that never grows old. They made it sound like it was urgent that they find the girl. I am one of probably many that they asked to look out for them. They can be extremely persuasive… especially after they help heal a person.”
“You… told them where I am?”
“Yes… about a year ago… but I told them I was not sure if you were the one they sought. But don"t worry, Michelle. I called them yesterday and told them I will not let them take you.”
“I can understand them wanting the elixir… but why do they want metoo?”
“As I said… they are unsavory. They help people… like me… and then they try to make the people they help do their bidding.”
“I don"t believe that they want me for anyreason.”
“Michelle… they know that you are like them. They want control over all immortals.”
“Well… I"m notan immortal. I"m aging just like my fetus is aging… veryslowly.”
“Really? Still… they want youas well as the elixir.”
“I don"t know that I can trust you. Stealing something from a lady"s purse is rather unsavory too.”
“You wouldn"t have let me have it for safe keeping if I told you the story beforehand, would you have?”
“Of course not.”
/> “That is why I had to take it. I wanted to make sure no harm would come to you.”
“I"m leaving the country, Philippe. Goodbye.” Michelle tried to escape from Philippe"s embrace, but he held her firmly.
“How do you propose to do that? You have no believable identification anymore. Your passport says that you are fifty years old.”
“You looked at my passport?”
“It was in your purse.”
“I knewyou stole that bottle.”
“Michelle… you are stuck in France. But don"t worry. I have a lovely place in the countryside. They will never find you. We will live there together forever.”
Evan walked past the pharmacy that used to be Cacharelli"s Sundry Shop and turned the corner onto Grove Street. When he got to the Flemings" home, it looked deserted. The grass he remembered in the front of the house was now mostly weeds and they were extremely overgrown. He hoped to find any clue he could get, so he approached the front door and rang the bell. To his surprise, an elderly lady answered the door. He knew right away that it was Mary. He wondered if she would recognize him, but then remembered that she would probably not be expecting a dead man to be on her doorstep, so any resemblance would most likely be dismissed.
“Yes? May I help you?”
“Good afternoon, ma"am. I… just happened to notice how high your grass looked… so I wondered if you could use any assistance?”
Mary looked at Evan skeptically. The exercise regimen he followed to strengthen his leg at the cloister was extended to benefit the rest of his body, giving him a more muscular appearance. Coupled with the physical aging that took its toll on him during his decline in health, he barely resembled the man who made Riverside his home over thirty years ago. “Do I know you?”
“Um… that depends. Do I look familiar to you?”
“No… not really.”
“I didn"t think so. Actually, I was just passing by and saw this as an opportunity to do my good deed for the day. If you have a mower, I would be glad to mowyour front lawn for you.”
“I… appreciate it… but I really don"t have any money to spare right now.”
“That"s fine. I was not looking for payment. As I said… it"s a good deed. Do you have a husband?”
“Not anymore. He… passed awaylast year.”
“Oh… I am sorry to hear that. Do you have any children that can help you out… with the errands and chores?”
“No.”
Evan shuddered, wondering what possibly could have happened to Michelle. “You neverhad any children?”
Mary hesitated. “Well… I do have onedaughter… but she lives far away.”
Now we’re getting somewhere . “Far away? Where does she live?”
“I receive letters from her now and then. That"s the only wayI know she"s alright. She never mentions where she lives or writes down a return address, but the envelopes have been postmarked „Paris, France" for the last twenty years.”
“Paris? And… you have no idea of her address?”
“No… so I can never write to her. I just wait… and look forward to her next letter every other month or so.”
“Why doesn"t she let you know where to write to her?”
“I think she doesn"t want to see her father. She probably doesn"t knowthat he"s dead.”
Evan"s heart sank. He didn"t need to ask why. “That"s too bad that she does not let you know where she is. Does she ever come to visit?” he asked hopefully.
“I wish she would… but she has never visited me… since she left home in 1972. I visited her once since then… when she was in a hospital in Canada back in 1983. She"s really a darling girl.”
“I"m sure she is, Mrs…?”
“Fleming… Mary Fleming.”
“Mrs. Fleming, perhaps I can help you find her.”
“I don"t know how you can. I hear they have these computers now where you can find people anywhere in the world.”
Evan already knew that the attempts made by Oliver on the internet came up with nothing. “Yes, unless she is covering her tracks as well as you say she is. Maybe I"ll come up with something. Would you like me to go to Paris and see if I can find her foryou?” Evan thought how ridiculous that must have sounded, offering to track down a fifty-year-old woman.
“You don"t even know what she lookslike.” Mary thought about showing Evan a picture, but explaining why a photo of Michelle at thirteen would suffice seemed crazy. Besides, Mary also figured that Michelle is not lost… she is merely avoiding her family.
“Oh… that"s true. Any pictures you would have of her would be very young photographs, wouldn"t they?”
“You can say that again. Anyway, she knows where I live.”
“So… where do you keep the lawn mower?”
“It"s in the garage. Hopefully you can start it. It hasn"t been used in over a year.”
“No problem, Mrs. Fleming. I"ll get it going. If you don"t mind… I"d like to take care of you as my responsibility. Consider it my payment.”
“Your payment? For what?”
“Uh… why, to God, of course. He wants us to take care of the widows. I"d like to make you the widow assigned to me.It"s the least I can do.”
“I don"t want anyone staying here with me.”
“That"s fine, Mrs. Fleming. I"ll stop by every day and see what needs to be done.”
“Thank you. You"re a nice young man. I… didn"t catch your name.”
Michelle "s uneasiness about trusting Philippe intensified after he had tightened his hold on her. “I don"t want to go home with you, Philippe.”
“Michelle… I could not bear wondering each day if those men ever caught up with you.”
“I think that is just another one of your lies… like when you told me that you didn"t take anything out of my purse.”
“Do you? Well then… how else did I know everything about you and the elixirif someone didn"t tell me about it? These men knew Evan personally. If he were still alive, they would also be looking for him. They knew about the remnants of the elixir.”
Michelle wanted to trust him. For the past year, he had always treated her nicely, but his latest breach of privacy disturbed her. “So what should I do?”
Philippe loosened his grip a little so he could put one arm around her small, tender shoulders as he led her to his automobile. “Just come with me, Michelle. Our house in the countryside is safe and secluded. We are going home.”
