A slight breeze brushed by them, giving a welcome distraction. Alex, noticed her reluctance, and shook his head and mumbled, “Okay, too much! Cool down.” He forced himself to take a deep breath and ran his hands through his tousled, blond hair. His brilliant blue eyes met hers again and she realized she couldn’t look away if she wanted to.
“I’m sorry. I came on too strong.” His face lit with his most charming smile and just a hint of mischief. “But I know that somewhere inside, you’re thinking, ‘I should go have breakfast with him,’” Alex paused, looked down at his knee, and pretended an increased value of the injury. “Of course, not because I was just injured in the line of duty, but because…”
She smiled, still uncertain, and then laughed. “Are you really going to use guilt?” He shrugged innocently. “So, I’m waiting to hear the because,” she challenged.
Alex found himself at a loss of the easy wit he so often used with his students. He moved in toward her. His closeness made the flutter in her heart turn in to a wild thumping. She wasn’t certain she liked it, but she didn’t want it to stop. “Because…there’s something about me that you,” he moved even closer to her so that she could feel his breath and spoke softly, “just like.”
Cringing, Alex worried his words sounded arrogant. But he was certain they were true. He could see that she felt their connection. Alex continued, “You don’t want to walk away, and I don’t want you to.” He took her gloved hand. “Have breakfast with me.”
Valeria took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, wondering if he could hear it. She was certain her face was flushed, but she could easily blame that on the near death experience they'd just shared. She nodded slowly, afraid to speak.
He turned on his most charming smile. “I’m Alex Morgan. I’m a History Professor at Columbia and, I assure you, I do not make a practice of throwing myself into moving vehicles in order to pick up women!”
“I’m Valeria Mills.” The corners of her mouth turned up in a wicked smile. “Well, Alex Morgan, that’s a shame! I do believe that you may have wasted your efforts on education when you are so successful with your Clark Kent-Superman imitation!”
Alex held out his arm for her and she grasped it. As they strolled across 5th Avenue, they passed Rosendo. He rolled his eyes and said to Alex, “Man, you got them moves down!”
∞
Sitting in a cozy booth in Sarabeth’s, Valeria drank in his features from beneath her lashes. She was so distracted that she'd broken her two-cup rule and was sipping her third cup of coffee while picking at the remains of her frittata. Alex gazed into her eyes, lapping up every word as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever heard.
“My mother was a rodeo rider from Oklahoma who somehow made the decision to marry my dad, who by all accounts was a nerdy accountant who liked his beer a bit too much!”
“How old were you when she died?”
Valeria looked at Alex critically. “How did you know?”
Alex mentally kicked himself. He had relaxed his guard. Being with her, talking to her, was throwing him off. “I’m sorry. I assumed the way you spoke of her that you hadn’t spent a lot of time with her.”
“My mother died giving birth to me, leaving dad a very unlikely recipient of a baby girl.” She offered a faded laugh and looked away, noticing a father at a nearby table who was affectionately listening to his daughter prattle on about something.
“It must have been hard on your father to lose someone he cared about.”
She shrugged. “Dad cared about his beer─and telling stories to his pub buddies.” Valeria swallowed. “He died when I was thirteen, a few weeks before Thanksgiving,” she said, flatly. She hated that most people got so emotional over the whole thing. Perhaps, Valeria thought, it brought to light that there was something wrong with her because she didn’t get upset about it. Still, she wasn’t ready for this charming stranger to realize that.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Who raised you?” Alex asked.
“I went to a number of different foster homes.” She sipped her coffee wondering why she was telling Alex all of these details about her life. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She wondered if she really was in shock, or if his eyes had somehow hypnotized her. Whatever it was, she found herself enjoying actually sharing the details of her life with him. She avoided looking at the clock, fearing their time might be drawing to a close.
“I changed schools a few times a year. I guess that was alright though.” She sighed. “I spent most of my time outside in the woods anyway. As it turns out, that was where I found my gift.”
“Gift?” He seemed surprised by her words.
Flushing, she said, “Yes, seeing the beauty in nature.” Alex looked up and smiled without missing a beat. “I started making homes in the woods, places where I could be alone and read in private.”
Alex’s brows drew together. “Aren’t the woods a bit dangerous for a young girl?”
There was a moment when Valeria’s pupils flashed and then she tilted her head. “Sometimes, it was safer there.”
Seeing that she had broken Alex’s light mood, she returned to the lightness of her magical woods. “I had books hidden in every knoll. I started decorating my outdoor homes with moss, stones, and flowers that I found.” Valeria played with a strawberry on her plate.
“One of my teachers encouraged us to enter a local art contest.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how I ever got the nerve, except my passing grade relied on it. I created a terrarium with things I found in the woods.” She smiled, her face flushing again as she glanced down. “Believe it or not, I won.” She tore off a bit of her English muffin and popped it in her mouth.
“Sounds like a scholarship to me,” Alex said, as he leaned his chin on his hand.
Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “School really wasn’t my thing. Besides, before that was ever an option, I was making enough money to support myself. I was emancipated at sixteen and I loved what I was doing. So, I didn’t really see the point.”
Alex was mesmerized again. “I don’t mean to change the subject, but your eyes are beautiful! What color are they?”
She blushed again. He was commenting on her rather ordinary eyes. “Thanks. Uh, well...they're kind of a blue-green, I guess.”
“Yes, but they have some gold that makes them very interesting,” he said.
“Oh, thanks.” She thought he had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. But she really couldn’t say that. She looked at his plate. “Didn’t you like your food?”
“It was good.” Alex glanced down and realized that he hadn’t taken a single bite of his Eggs Benedict. “Well, it’s always good here,” he covered, and then laughed.
Alex pressed his lips together and stared at her, evaluating. “Let’s see. My guess is that you're about twenty-four?”
“I’m twenty-seven.”
A bolt of surprise seemed to hit him. She continued, “Well, I'm not twenty-seven yet, but I will be next week. I haven't even thought about what I might do.” She noticed that he suddenly seemed frozen. She felt a deep flush move over her face and neck. “Not that I have to do anything. I mean, I do things by myself all the time.” She prattled on, feeling totally ridiculous.
Alex looked down with barely missed anxiety. “When is your twenty-seventh birthday, exactly?” Sound casual, he warned himself. Don’t scare her.
“Monday.”
His breath caught. “This coming Monday? Five days from now?”
The change in his tone didn’t escape Valeria’s notice. Of all the times she had decided to talk about herself! Certainly he was bored to tears. Though, he didn’t look it. Valeria wished she had left a smidge of mystery to herself. But it was too late for that.
“Yes. I’m sorry, that sounded like I expected you to ask me out.” Realizing what she'd just said, she stopped, mortified that she had actually said it aloud. She lowered her face to her hands as she felt a flush move over her neck and should
ers. It was becoming a habit around him.
Relax, Alex thought, forcing a smile on his face. “I would love to! It’s just that you don’t look more than twenty-four.” He looked around trying to collect his thoughts and even his breath.
Looking anywhere but his face, Valeria went on trying to ease her embarrassment. “I don’t usually even celebrate my birthday. Well, because my mother died when I was born, you know. But, uh, well, my boyfriend, David…well, I guess we’re engaged now...” Valeria cringed. Why had she felt the need to fill the silence with talk about David? She glanced up to see how Alex had responded to this bit of information. To her disappointment, he didn’t seem to notice at all. In fact, he was in deep thought. Why did she bring up David?
Finally, Alex looked at her with a half smile, his eyes narrowing. “Excuse me a moment, I need to make a quick call.” When Valeria's face dropped, Alex added, “Don’t go anywhere, beautiful!” He winked at her again and she watched as he walked outside the restaurant. Through the window she could see that he was engaged in an intense phone conversation. When he returned to the table, a few minutes later, he was more relaxed than he had been moments before.
“Is everything all right?” Valeria asked.
Alex put on his most charming smile. “Absolutely! I just realized I was supposed to meet a friend.”
“Oh. Well, I guess you need to leave then.” She tried to hide her disappointment.
Alex furrowed his brow. “No! I don’t need to leave. I was hoping—”
Interrupting him, Valeria said, “Well, I mean, if you have a date and you need to run and meet her...”
“It’s not a date. It’s a friend of mine, a doctor.”
“Are you sick?”
He chuckled. “No, although some of my students might disagree.”
Valeria snickered nervously. Why was she jumping to all of these conclusions? She picked at the last of her fruit. “I can’t believe I haven’t eaten here before,” she said, pleased that she had successfully changed the subject. She looked up and noticed Alex looking at her with an inquisitive expression. “What?”
As the waitress returned to their table to refill both of their coffees, Valeria noticed that, again, the waitress smiled a bit too long at Alex. Realizing that this would be her fourth cup, though these mugs were smaller than what she considered to be full-sized, Valeria decided to cut herself off. She covered the mug with her hand. She was jumpy enough as it was.
“No…thank you!”
Waiting for the waitress to leave, Alex leaned forward and in a knowing voice said, “You do love your coffee, don’t you?”
She shrugged with a smile. “Yes, I do! You…” she said and then paused, a bit embarrassed to continue.
“What?” he asked.
“You seem to notice everything about me! I mean…not that…I mean, you are probably just a very observant person,” Valeria covered.
He winced. “I’m sorry. I’m probably a little too intense. I’ll work on that.” He winked, but tensed up. “Listen, I have been enjoying the pure pleasure of your company. But there is someone I need you to meet.”
“Somebody I need to meet?”
Alex leaned toward her. “Yes,” he said, glancing out onto Park Avenue. “Well, here he is!”
A giant of a man walked by the window. Valeria noticed that he was thin, immaculately dressed, and had very short, dark gray hair and brilliant blue eyes, like Alex. She guessed that they must be relatives—two unrelated people could never share that eye color! The man entered the restaurant and headed straight toward them.
“Valeria, I’d like you to meet my friend, Dr. Immanuel Castro. Mani is the friend I told you about. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited him here to meet you. Mani is a top researcher from Johns Hopkins.”
Taking her hand, Mani graciously held it and almost bowed. “It’s very nice to meet you, Valeria.”
“Mani, your accent—what nationality are you?”
“Most of my time has been around Portugal, the Azores, and Italy, of course,” he responded kindly.
Alex cut in a bit nervously. “So, Doc has kind of a communication for you.”
Mani winked at her. “Excuse my friend. He’s a bit impatient when it comes to you.”
“We just met,” she corrected.
“Yes, I know.”
“So, beautiful, I want you to just relax,” Alex said, letting his shoulders move down. Valeria wondered what was going on with this.
“Alex is correct. It will be easier if you relax.” Mani pulled off his gloves.
The waitress came by and glanced at Mani.
“Menu, honey?” The waitress touched Alex’s shoulder while speaking to Mani—annoying Valeria to her core.
Completely ignoring the waitress’s mild flirtation, Alex answered for Mani. “No, thank you. He can’t stay.” Mani wasn’t paying any attention; his focus was on Valeria. Alex added as an afterthought, “Oh, and the check, please, when you get a chance.”
Hearing Alex ask for the check would have disappointed Valeria, if she hadn’t been getting so nervous about what was going on with Mani. Though, he seemed friendly enough. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Mani smiled at her kindly. “You will, very shortly. Alex thought this might be an easier gradient for you.” Mani faced Valeria and took her hands in his. Somehow, she felt safe. She glanced at Alex, who looked tense.
“Valeria, look at me,” Mani said, in his soothing voice.
Looking into his eyes, she noticed that although they were identical to Alex’s, she could actually analyze the color without getting lost in them. She noticed that they were an almost translucent blue, bejeweled with streaks of various shades of darker blue and, occasionally, almost a deep purple. Valeria felt as if she could see right into his soul—just like with Alex’s eyes. She felt her body relax.
Suddenly, she was struck with a force; at least it felt like a force. It continued for several seconds. Something like a filmstrip running too fast went off in Valeria’s head; so fast that she couldn’t quite take it all in. Yet, something seemed so…familiar about what she saw. As suddenly as it had started, it ended. Mani was still looking at her with his kind eyes. Alex’s look was intense. Satisfied with something, Alex patted Mani on the back.
“Okay, Doc. Thanks, buddy.”
Rising from the table, Mani lifted a long finger at her. “Valeria, I want to see you in my lab. Okay?”
She wanted to protest or, at very least, question what had happened, but found she didn’t have the strength or desire. Alex came around and helped her stand.
“What’s going on?” She decided that she really was in shock from the accident. It had just been a delayed reaction.
“We can talk about it while I walk you back to your place,” Alex said, as he tossed a few twenties on the table next to the check. Valeria was too disoriented to argue or question him. She took Alex’s arm and started to walk back toward Central Park. As they neared the park, he stopped and turned toward her. Valeria looked at him, totally baffled about why they were stopping.
His eyes softened with a playful glint. “Despite all appearances, I don’t know where you live. I just assumed that you were on the Upper West Side, since that’s the direction you'd come from earlier.”
“Oh, this path is good. I’m at 95th and Columbus, just on the other side of the park.”
As they entered Central Park, Alex waived to Rosendo, though he focused his attention solely on Valeria. “Let’s talk about what happened with Mani,” he said, as if he were teaching one of his classes. “So, what did you see?”
“I’m…I’m just not sure,” she responded.
Alex nodded several times, knowingly. “Well, all right.” He seemed to be considering for a moment. “So, what did you see?”
“It was like a…” she paused, trying to put it together.
“Yes?” Alex nodded, encouraging her to continue. They turned onto the path that goes around the reservoir. V
aleria noticed how much more she enjoyed the trail in his company.
“It was like a filmstrip.” She looked at him for confirmation. He nodded slightly for her to continue. “Except there were smells, tastes…everything.”
“So, you saw pictures with perceptions. And what was in the pictures?” he asked, as if he already knew the answer.
“I saw…I saw a little girl, sitting on a man’s lap, on like a…a big chair?”
“Focus on her face. What does she look like?”
“Well, she has brown curls and she has…blue eyes, like yours!” She turned to Alex. “Did Mani hypnotize me?”
An amused smile lit the corners of Alex’s mouth. He was completely distracted by a stray curl blowing lightly across her face. Unable to control himself, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear, brushing his finger along her cheek as he did.
For Valeria, it felt as if time had stopped. She felt an electrical energy—as if a thousand volts had moved through her body—bringing new life to her cheek. She forced herself to breathe, still feeling his touch on her face. Alex noticed her response. His voice went soft and she noted a hint of something else. “No, beautiful. No, he did not hypnotize you.”
Her heart was racing, and she was certain he had noticed her flush. She liked that he called her “beautiful.”
As they began walking again, they passed a legless man who had a sign that said Veteran─please help!
“Hey, Hector!” Alex waved.
“Alex! Hey, man!” the legless man replied. Valeria had seen the man and his sign several times, but had always avoided his eyes.
Glancing at her, Alex said, “Excuse me for just a moment, will you?” He waited for Valeria to nod her approval.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out his wallet and removed a hundred dollar bill. Hector eyed it hungrily. Then, taking a pen from the inside breast pocket of his coat, Alex began writing on the bill. After numerous lines, he recapped the pen and placed it back in his pocket. “Hector, do me a favor?”
“Me, do you a favor? Sure, man.” Hector was waiting for the pay-off.
The Sibylline Oracle (The Sibylline Trilogy) Page 4
