by Teya Tapler
“It makes our job a bit easier,” Zander continued. “We don’t have to worry about how we’re going to bring her here without harming the past or the future.”
“Wow!” Mary leaned on the living room door.
“I’m not following you.” Emil either needed more coffee or had had too many doughnuts.
“Professor Wilderness said that we have to bring Evan here permanently. That was the only way she’d be able to help us destroy the pearls-” Zander started.
“And because Evan dies in 2006, we can transcast her here at the time of the accident.” Peter completed the sentence.
If only I was brave enough to take her with me then, this would’ve never have happened. Zander thought and the words of the tiny reader came to his mind,
Don’t go beyond and don’t look a far. Don’t cast a wish on a falling star,
For all you need to bring the world to peace can be reached when you are on your knees.
Chapter 15
“October 15th 2006
Dear Diary,
Alex and I finally kissed last night. He was such a gentleman. I may be falling in love again. Oh, almost forgot. Today was day 1080…”
“What are you writing about?” Brittany had barged in Evan's room without knocking and seeing Evan over the diary she ran and picked it up from the bed. She read the last entry then sat on the chair behind the desk and put her feet on the bed close to Evan's head.
“So finally you are letting yourself live. This is a reason for celebration. Come on. I'll bring out the ice cream. My carb-free diet is giving me the jitters. Come on, move to the sofa and tell me the scoop,” Brittany threw the diary on the desk and headed to the fridge.
It was the beginning of their fifth month in that apartment. It was on the third floor in one of the red brick houses in Boston. After the gas explosion at their place in Cambridge that spring and the beginning of the school year coming up quickly the living spaces with college-students-approved rent were disappearing faster than the warm summer days. Brittany and Evan were extremely lucky to find that apartment. It was much smaller than their Cambridge place but they still had a room to call their own and shared the bathroom, kitchen and living room areas.
Evan turned on her back and looked at the ceiling wondering if she was falling in love again. If she knew that would be the place where she was going to be when she was finally able to move on with her live, she would have rented that apartment last year if not earlier.
“Your diary won't be able to respond and give you an advice,” Brittany shouted from the kitchen. Evan reluctantly got up and moseyed herself to the sofa. There she put her feet up and pressed her knees against her chest. She loved the posture. It was like hugging herself when she needed a hug the most.
Brittany came with two generous ice cream portions. It was apples and caramel, Evan's favorite. She handed Evan a bowl and sat like a pretzel at the other end of the sofa. Brittany put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and focused on Evan.
“So, tell me, tell me, tell me how did you too meet? How did you keep him a secret? Everything!” Brittany talked faster than usual.
“Well you remember my internship this summer at Analysis4All,” Evan started.
“Yes, you told me about all those ridiculous policies they had. How could I forget? The only good think there was that they didn't ask you to wear a suit every day. Don't get me wrong you totally rocked your black suit but you look best in a flattering T-shirt, blue jeans and flats. This pixie hair cut is made for you. I'm so happy you cut your hair.”
“Do you want to hear about him or you want to continue discussing my career and clothes choices?” Evan teased her.
“Of course, of course, tell me about him!” Brittany put another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. ”You know what I think about the other stuff,” she waved her hand.
“Alex’s tall,” Evan started and Brittany tried to put together a picture of Alex in her mind. “He has broad shoulders, dark hair and brown eyes.” Evan continued the description, noticing how her friend liked the image she was assembling in her mind. ”He’s extremely smart, the best data architect and data modeler I’ve ever seen,” Evan ended Alex’s description.
“Ewe!” Brittany exclaimed with disapproval.” Couldn’t he be a rock star, or at least a budding musician or an aspiring actor or an artist?”
“Do you want to hear about him or not?” Evan cut her short.
Brittany sat more comfortably, put a pink disobedient strand of hair behind her ears, focused on Evan’s eyes and said, “I’m all ears.”
“At Analysis4All we worked together on an important project and he called me back sometime after I left.”
“That's my girl!” Brittany said proudly. ”You've conquered them, thrown the bait and left. That is always the best tactic.”
“My internship ended Bri-i-it,“ Evan kicked her friend gently and smiled. It was funny when Brittany played the role of a love adviser. She pretended she didn’t hear something just to make Evan correct her by reaffirming her statement.
“Of course, of course, how convenient,” Brittany wasn't giving up. ”What happened next?” She sleeked her fair hair with pink strands behind her ears and focused her attention on Evan.
“One day when I was all alone here, studying for that Java test, the phone rang,” Evan started.
“How did he get your number?” Brittany started to wander. ”Did he hire a private detective?”
“You need to stop watching that police show on TV,” Evan said. “On my last day as intern I sent an email to everyone I’ve worked with to thank them for the great opportunity at Analysis4All. At the end I wrote my phone number and email address for future contacts.”
“You’ve planted the se-e-ed!” Brittany said pointing with her empty spoon to Evan.
“I was secretly hoping they will offer me a job after graduation. It’ll be great to work in Boston and live back with my dad and Allie in Hamptonville.”
“If you don’t like me as a roommate, give me back the ice cream!” Brittany joked and tried to pull away Evan’s bowl. Evan quickly protected her ice cream then gently kicked Brittany back to the other end of the sofa.
“It’s not that,“ Evan said,” it’s that they’re so lonely since mom died.”
Brittany moved closed and hugged her friend. She was the one who had helped Evan pick together the pieces after her mother died and Brittany knew what she needed to do now. They stood like that for a while then she nudged Evan and said,” So when did he call you?”
“Three days after that last email. The caller id displayed a phone number outside of Massachusetts. I was in a good mood and decided to take the call. If it was a sales rep I’d have practiced my people skills and declined all offers politely with a smile,” Evan started. “My head was so full with Java objects and methods that I desperately needed to talk to a real person instead of conversing with my computer.”
“Did you recognize him right away?” Brittany asked.
“Not until he presented himself. He was so-o afraid that I’ll hang up that we did some small talk for a while. The weather, the recent news, you know anything but sports.” Evan said then remembered how his distinctive voice sounded familiar in the beginning and how she was afraid to say his name and make the wrong guess.
“Wow, he played by the rules. He must like you.”
“He asked if I was available the next day to go with him to a Jonoovi concert,” Evan said. “I almost dropped the phone. You know that I have all Jonoovi songs on my MP3 player.”
“Did you wait for a while before answering?” Brittany asked.
“Yes.” Evan smiled. ”I followed the rule to count to three before saying, maybe.”
Brittany smiled with approval and fired the next question, “What happened next?”
“The concert started at seven, and we met an hour earlier to have time finding our seats,” Evan said.
“And for him to check your cute outfit.” Brittan
y chimed in. “Was the concert three weeks ago on Saturday?” she asked.
“Yes.” Evan moved her eyes down.
“I knew it!” Brittany jumped on her seat. “I knew that you had a date that night, regardless of whatever silly excuse you came up with,” she shouted pleased that her deduction was perfect as usual. Evan waited quietly, still confused about that budding relationship, eager to hear somebody else’s objective opinion. When Brittany finally calmed down Evan continued to talk about her first date with Alex.
“The concert was great. We had good seats and were able to see the stage clearly. After that we stopped for a coffee at a 24/7 donuts shop, shared a donut, and then he walked me home.”
“A double wow, he’s a gentleman so far.” Brittany liked the story. “You know I might’ve never told you but Josh walked me home every night while we were at high school. We used to go at the milkshake place at the Hamptonville train station. You know where I lived. It was a 20 minute walk from the station to my place and then over 30 minutes from there to Josh’s house. His dad didn’t buy him a car like Kevin’s father did. Josh had to earn the money himself.”
Evan looked at her feet and became silent. It was the sign that Brittany had said too much. She tried to compensate,” I’m sorry, didn’t want to bring the memories of Kevin. I know he’s the one person you loved most and lost so early. They never found his body after the explosion at that party. We’re so lucky to get out on time. I know you still count the days since Kevin’s death, I saw the day count in your diary entry for today, but… you need to move on. It’s been almost three years.” Brittany said.
Evan tried to put on a smile for Brit’s sake. She needed her friend’s opinion. Brittany always had a helpful advice.
“Come on, what happened next; don’t stop at the best place. Does he blush often and look awkward around you like Mitchell did?” Brittany urged Evan to continue.
“Bri-it. Don’t talk like that about Mitchell! He was nice and kind,” Evan said.
“Okay. I’ll forget about Mitchell but only if you tell me what happened next with you and Alex,” Brittany insisted.
“Then we talked for a while,“ Evan started, ”he took my hands and asked me if I would like to go out with him again the next day. This made me say something else than the ‘me too’ I was saying when he commented on how he liked the concert and what a good time he had.” Evan smiled remembering the awkward moment on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance of their apartment building. She tried to remember whether she had blushed at that moment or her cheeks felt warm because Alex was stopping the wind from brushing her face.
“Did he kiss you?” Brittany’s curiosity burned her from the inside and she was becoming extremely inpatient. She fidgeted at her seat.
“No, he didn’t,” Evan said and looked at her feet again, “he did not kiss me that night for I went inside before he could say anything after we agreed to meet the next Friday.”
“That’s my girl! Give me a high five!” Brittany was ecstatic. “Never kiss on a first date!”
Evan met her half way for the high five then said shyly, “He kissed me a few hours ago though. It was our fifth date.”
“Wow, again!” Brittany said.” You’ve held the fort longer than I ever could. Way to go!”
“He also doesn’t blush and doesn’t look awkward when he’s near me. Do you think that’s okay?” Evan asked afraid from the answer she might receive. ”That he’s okay?”
“Okay? You want to know if he’s okay? Of course he’s okay. He scored extremely high in my book,” Brittany said. ”If he wasn’t the geeky type you like hanging with I would’ve taken him already.”
Chapter 16
Evan ran down the stairs from her apartment and opened the door to the street. Alex was waiting for her at the door step and greeted her with an open smile. His eyes lit when she smiled back. He gave her an orange chrysanthemum in a short silver wrapper with coordinated big bow and long ribbon. She smelled the flower and exhaled slowly.
“It’s so lovely. Thank you,” she said. “They are in peak season now. Their smell’s so intoxicating and yet they’re so brave to blossom at the threshold of winter.”
“H-hm,” Alex coughed.
She stopped her lyrical escape and kissed him on the cheek.
“Where d’you want to go today?” he asked.
“Surprise me,” she said.
“Okay, then we’ll ride on the Rockport line from North Station. I’m offering you a day among the arts.”
“Fantastic!” Evan smiled.
They got on the Rockport train and headed north. The stops were coming one after another Chelsea, River Works, Lynn, Swampscott. When the train came close to the next stop Alex announced trying to imitate the voice coming from the speakers above them. “We’re here, at Salem!”
Brisk and fresh wind greeted them as they got off the train. There was a crisp ribbon in the air that made Evan raise the hood of her fleece jacket. Both of them were dressed in jeans and fleece hooded sweatshirts; the best outfit when you wanted to go sightseeing or have fun outdoors in New England at that time of the year.
Salem was getting ready for the big Halloween celebration. The decorations were coming up and witches in costumes were frequenting the mall and the coffee shops. People from all over the world were about to cram in that fascinating city to celebrate All Saints Day with a carnival procession, music, arts and food.
The Peabody and Essex Museum had an interesting exposition of contemporary works from Native American artists. The rooms of oil paintings, landscapes and sculptures from the past decade slowly lead them to the permanent exhibitions where they admired the Taj Mahal model and the elaborately decorated elephant tooth; asked another visitor to take their picture in front of the stone dragon statue and marveled the two hundred years old Chinese house.
Whenever Evan was not sure what an item was Alex would share with her a lot of details without even looking at the card. The third time she read secretly the description while he was looking away just to verify if he really knew what he was talking about or was simply making things up. His answer was longer than the three sentences on the card and way more intriguing. She was seeing an unknown side of him: his love of fine arts and history. He was reading a lot more than the technical books required for his job. Unable to hide her admiration Evan finally asked him. “How do you know all those things?”
“In college, I wanted to study history of the arts until my parents reminded me that I’ll have to be able to repay my student loans and I shifted to computer science,” he grinned, “I tried keeping up with both as much as I can.”
“Have you been here recently?” Evan asked suspecting him of secretly visiting the museum the previous day.
“I haven’t been here for a lo-ong time. Since after we moved from Hamptonville to Salem.”
“You’ve lived in Hamptonville?” Evan couldn’t believe her ears.
“We left in my freshman year,” he said.
“Bummer,” she said.
“Yes, bummer. I would have invited you to my prom,” he smiled and looked at her adoringly. She liked that and twirled in response. He hugged her and they pretended to waltz a couple of steps.
“Excuse me, sir,” a museum custodian stood next to them.
“We’re just leaving,” Alex drew Evan out of the museum.
Once in the open the crisp air reminded them that the winter may be coming sooner.
“Are you hungry?” He led her to a small restaurant off the main street, “I know where we can get the best clam chowder.” When they opened the door and got in the place smelled like fried shellfish. The atmosphere was warm and homely. The patrons looked like frequenting locals.
Evan smiled, “I already love it here.”
“What d’you want?” Alex asked her pointing to the densely written chalkboard above the counter.
“Your choice,” she said overwhelmed with the choices.
“I’ll surprise you th
en. Go and pick a table,” Alex said.
Evan looked around and sat in one of the booths along the wall and placed the orange chrysanthemum on the table next to the condiments. The high backrests were going to protect them from prying eyes when she needed to be alone with Alex. She felt happy and optimistic about their promising relationship; they were getting along just fine, she could talk to him even about her work and he was a good kisser. Maybe she was ready to let him in even closer.
“Hi Evan!“ a deep baritone interrupted her thoughts. Evan looked up and saw Ollie sitting opposite her at the table. It had been a few weeks since she last saw him but his skin problems haven’t improved. Nor did his bad timing and desire to please.
“I was waiting in line when I saw you sit here and thought I’d share with you some fries,” Ollie pushed his fish and chips basket toward her. The basket looked very tasty. Even though he knew what he had sprinkled on them Ollie himself had hard time resisting trying the fries. He picked one with his right hand and started playing with it.
“I’m with someone actually,“ Evan touched gently the chrysanthemum and looked around to find Alex. He was picking up the order standing with his back towards them. “He’ll be coming here shortly.“
Ollie looked at the line trying to identify who the mystery person was. He evaluated the chance of someone rushing to help Evan after she tried the poisoned potatoes. Alex was now paying, looking down at his wallet and Ollie didn’t recognize him. He assumed that Evan was with one of the other guys, further back in line.
“It’ll take a while till he comes here. Tell me how are you? Where are you now? Are you still in college?” Ollie started. The angry face of the Chancellor came to his mind reminding him to complete his task. Ollie pushed the fish and chips basket towards Evan, inviting her to try them.
