Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance

by Bryan W. Alaspa

  "I hope I can smoke a cigar once I get there," Stephen remarked.

  Jeremy nodded. "I have a huge front porch. I think we can fit one in."

  "No television though?" Stephen asked. "How do you live without a plasma screen television and TiVO?"

  "You find ways," Jeremy replied.

  "Awwww," Stephen said. "Amelia lets you touch her boobies? That’s how you pass the time, right?"

  Jeremy laughed. Veronica rolled her eyes, stifled a laugh and then elbowed Stephen again.

  "Your jealousy is noted," Jeremy replied.

  They stepped out of the airport and walked into the parking lot. It took several minutes to find where he’d parked the car. Jeremy threw Veronica’s suitcase into the trunk of the car and Stephen did the same with his own.

  "Is this a new one?" Stephen asked.

  "It's Amelia's," Jeremy said. "I still drive a Jeep."

  "Damn," Stephen said as he climbed into the passenger seat. "It's too bad we can't take that with us this weekend. You ever actually been off-roading before?"

  "No," Jeremy said. "I live in a real city, remember?"

  “Shut up,” Stephen replied. "Yeah, with your air pollution and rush hour traffic that lasts all night. I'm really jealous."

  "Yeah," Jeremy said, "and I really miss all of that humidity and the severe thunderstorms every few days during July and August."

  The two of them laughed as Jeremy reversed the car. A few years back, Jeremy had lived in the St. Louis area, too. This was during his first marriage, which had apparently been obvious as a doomed affair to everyone but him. Jeremy had also gone to college down there, which is where he first met Stephen. Stephen was hardly a man in love with St. Louis, but since Jeremy had moved to Chicago, Stephen had been trying to convince him to come back. Jeremy had remained resolute on the matter.

  "We should probably stop before we get to your place," Stephen suggested.

  "Why?" Jeremy asked.

  "So we can get snacks and stuff for the trip; plus I need beer."

  "Why didn't you come prepared?" Jeremy asked. "We are on a bit of a tight schedule here. I hate driving in the dark and there’s not much in the way of streetlights up there. It makes finding the place harder than you’d think."

  "They don't exactly let you bring bottles of beer on the plane with you."

  "Well, what about once we get up there?"

  Stephen shrugged. "Do you have beer up there?"

  "You know I don't drink beer."

  "Then I guess we need to buy some before we leave."

  "Amelia's going to be waiting for us."

  "It'll take ten minutes, for crying out loud."

  Jeremy sighed. "Fine, we'll stop at the store near the apartment."

  "You should learn to drink beer," Stephen said.

  "Hey, you got me to drink wine," Jeremy said. "Consider yourself lucky."

  "We should pick up a bottle or two of that," Veronica said from the back seat. "They don't let you bring bottles of wine on the flights either."

  They drove through crawling traffic until they reached the exit near Jeremy and Amelia's apartment. Then they fought their way through even more traffic until they reached a store with a liquor selection Jeremy figured would appeal to Stephen. While Jeremy had never developed a particular taste for alcohol or, in particular, beer, Stephen loved the stuff. To Jeremy it tasted like bitter urine, but it appealed to Stephen. Stephen liked strange Belgian beers in particular. Rodenbach was his favourite.

  They exited the car and entered the bustling store. Almost immediately, Veronica and Stephen divided the labor.

  "I'll go get snacks and stuff," Veronica said. "Jeremy, is there anything you want?"

  "No, I'm fine." Jeremy smiled. Veronica offered a strained smile in return and then walked off.

  "Okay," Jeremy said once she was out of earshot. "Tell me what the hell is going on with you two."

  Jeremy grabbed a cart and began pushing it in front of him. Typically, it was the one cart with a squeaky wheel.

  "You know what's going on with us," Stephen said, not looking directly at Jeremy.

  "I thought you two were going to work things out?"

  Stephen sighed. "We've reached an impasse."

  "I never understood your obsession with this."

  "I've wanted to have my own family and be a father for as long as I can remember. She knew that when we met and when we got married. Now she says she's changed her mind. That's a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned."

  "She loves her career," Jeremy said as his eyes and attention wandered over the products lining the shelves. "Why can't you understand that? She'd have to put everything on hold to have a kid with you. You wouldn't give up your career."

  "Again," Stephen said as he scanned the shelves, "I told her what I wanted from the beginning. She knew what she was getting into."

  Jeremy shook his head. "You've always been this way, Stephen. If things don’t fall immediately and permanently into your plans, you discard them."

  "What should I do?" Stephen said. "Should I wait and wait and wait? I don't want to become a father for the first time when I'm forty. I made it clear to her from the beginning that this is what I wanted. I don't want to waste any more time if it's not going to advance things for me."

  "What about her, though?"

  "Again, it just seems to me like she's breaking the deal."

  "People and living things aren't disposable, Stephen. It's just like when you insisted I should get rid of that dog I had."

  At one time, Jeremy had owned a dog. It had actually been the idea of his ex-wife to get one. Jeremy warned her that taking care of it could take a lot of time and effort, but she insisted. So, they had gotten a puppy. Before long, though, the dog grew up and became anti-social. The dog became overprotective of Jeremy and wouldn't let anyone else near him. It made socializing at home impossible. When the marriage ended, Jeremy was alone. That dog was the only thing that kept him company and Jeremy had always felt he owed the dog as much loyalty as it had given him. Stephen tried repeatedly to convince him to get rid of the dog; maybe get a new one. Jeremy didn’t agree. He felt that you did not discard a life just because it was not meeting up to some expectations you had set on its behalf.

  "I'm not having her put to sleep," Stephen said. "I just want to start a family. I just think this kind of thing will breed resentment. Hell, it already has. So, what should I do? Stay with her? Let’s say we stay together for twenty years but hate each other? Maybe it's just better to end things now while we can both move on and find exactly what we're really looking for."

  "You don't exactly look happy saying that," Jeremy said. "She doesn't look very happy either."

  "Well, I have to admit we’ve wondered if we should even go on this weekend getaway." He placed two bottles of wine in the cart.

  "Why did you guys come, then?"

  "I told her I didn't want to disrupt your plans."

  "Yet, here we are at the store instead of at my apartment. Seems like you're disrupting things anyway."

  Stephen smiled. "Hardly the same thing as cancelling the entire weekend."

  "Do you think you two are going to spend the whole weekend arguing?"

  "No, I don't think so," Jeremy said. "I think we'll even be friends once we split up. We get along fine as long as we aren't talking about her career and starting a family."

  Jeremy looked down at the cart and pushed it along absentmindedly. He frowned. He remembered going to their wedding. Jeremy had been as sick as a dog that weekend, but he was determined to go because he was supposed to read a verse at the ceremony. Somehow he had gotten through it. That day now seemed so very long ago, with so much emotional distance between Veronica and Stephen.

  "What's wrong?" Stephen asked. "It's not like you and Amelia are splitting up."

  "I know," Jeremy said with a sigh. "I just thought you guys were going to make it. It's discouraging."

  "Well, if your marriage was based upon whether
or not ours was going to make it, you may have some of your own problems to deal with."

  "I'm not saying that we're breaking up because you guys are," Jeremy said. "I just like you guys, you know? You're like a brother and Veronica was almost like a sister to me."

  "Yeah, a sister you would’ve gladly had sex with if she’d expressed an interest."

  "Well the whole 'think-of-you-like-a-sister' thing only goes so far. I'm not insane."

  "That could be open to debate," Stephen said.

  "Are you done studying the goddamn beer yet?" Jeremy said. "I was worried about Amelia being late. Instead, I'm the one who's going to be late here."

  "You worry too much," Stephen said. "Relax."

  Jeremy sighed. He felt like he was spending a lot of time sighing. Stephen was still eyeing the shelves and looking at one beer after another. He finally made a selection and put it the cart.

  "That's the one?" Jeremy said, eyeing the bottle suspiciously.

  "It's the nectar of the gods."

  "It all tastes like cat urine to me."

  "You taste much cat urine, do you?"

  "I just imagine it would taste a lot like the beers you like," Jeremy said.

  "That's what you used to say about wine and now look at you."

  "I suppose you want me to thank you for that?"

  Stephen smiled. "It would be appreciated."

  Just then Veronica came around the corner, her arms loaded with potato chips and other snacks. She smiled and hurried over to the cart. At the same time, Stephen moved forward to help Veronica with the load in her arms almost automatically and without thinking. Jeremy shook his head slightly as he watched, feeling sad and disappointed and not understanding why things were imploding between the two.

  "You guys weren't talking about me, were you?" Veronica asked.

  "Of course not," Jeremy said. "You know what us guys are like; especially Stephen. We were talking about hockey."

  Veronica laughed. "It is his obsession."

  "Don't they play until about July and then start the new season about a week later?" Jeremy cracked.

  "I wish," Stephen replied. "Then I wouldn't have to watch freakin' baseball or see it on ESPN all the time."

  "You just don't understand," Jeremy sighed.

  "Come on," Stephen said, gathering steam now that this was familiar territory. "If you came down to earth, like some kind of Martian or something, and you looked at the various sports that people here watched and had no idea of the history of any of the sports or anything, you would think baseball was the most boring thing ever. Then you'd look at hockey and see the skill and the speed at which it's played and you would find that it’s a superior sport."

  "If I were a Martian," Jeremy replied, "I would have respect for history and the strategy of baseball. Also, being a technically-superior race, I'd probably look at a highly technical sport and be impressed. I regret to inform you, but an alien race might look at auto racing and be impressed."

  They walked together out of the liquor aisle. Stephen and Jeremy looked toward the checkout lines and tried to determine which line would move the fastest. Both men eyed the self-checkout lanes.

  "Please," Stephen said, not looking at Jeremy, his eyes scanning the lanes, "of what possible skill is driving to the left? They drive around and around in a circle. How challenging is that? Just because NASCAR is the most-popular spectator sport in this country doesn't mean it's the best sport. Taste accounts for nothing."

  "Hey, now," Jeremy admonished, guiding the cart toward the self-checkout lanes. "I don't like auto racing either. However, I am willing to admit that I don't think I could do it. You have no idea what it takes to control engines and vehicles that powerful. Plus, it gets so hot in those cars. I bet you couldn't do it."

  "Oh yeah?" Stephen said as he moved up to one of the available self-service lanes and started scanning groceries. “Have you seen me drive?"

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Lord, yes, I have. I remember the white knuckles I had as I gripped the 'oh shit' bar."

  "Yes," Veronica said. "Stephen still thinks this is Europe and the highways are the Autobahn."

  "I'm being attacked on all sides here," Stephen said with a laugh as he scanned more groceries.

  "Well, I felt I needed to contribute something to this conversation," Veronica said. "I hate it when you guys talk about sports."

  "I do apologize," Jeremy said as he pulled more groceries out of the cart and laid them on the small shelf next to the scanner.

  "She loves it," Stephen said. "She knows hockey is the ultimate sport."

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. Veronica rolled hers as well. Stephen chose to ignore them both.

  They finished scanning the groceries and putting them into the plastic bags. Stephen paid and the three of them each grabbed bags. They exited the store as Jeremy glanced at his watch. They could still reach home before Amelia if they hurried. However, after one look at the crowded parking lot and the traffic trying to get out, he knew it was unlikely.

  Jeremy started the car as Stephen and Veronica loaded the bags into the back and then returned to their seats. Stephen smirked at Jeremy and immediately began fiddling with the radio as Jeremy backed out and found an opening in the line of traffic. He knew that Stephen was fiddling with his radio to irritate him. He chose to ignore it and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  "You are aware that this is supposed to be a fun weekend, right?" Stephen asked.

  "Shut-up."

  "Well, you’re always so tense," Stephen said. "You get these schedules in your head and then you act like it's the end of the world when things don't follow exactly as planned. You need to relax. I’m amazed you don't have a dozen ulcers."

  "How do you know I don't? I get it from my mother, anyway. She's always been the type to have everything planned out. Whenever anything disrupts her plans, she goes nuts."

  "Amelia isn't like this, is she?" Veronica said from the back as she began leafing through a magazine she had purchased.

  "No," Jeremy said.

  "Then I agree with Stephen. You need to relax."

  "Now I feel ganged-up on," Jeremy said as he turned into traffic.

  "Wait until Amelia gets in here," Veronica said. "Then you'll really be in for it."

  They all fell silent as Jeremy turned onto the street behind the apartment building he and Amelia lived in. He parked in a spot in front of a red brick building with a white front.

  "This is the place?" Veronica asked.

  "Yep," Jeremy replied as he watched for a break in traffic and then opened the car door.

  "Not bad," Stephen said as he climbed out. "A little old."

  Jeremy and Amelia had only moved into the apartment three months ago. They had been quite happy in their smaller and more expensive apartment in a different part of town, but the landlord for that place turned out to be a greedy son of a bitch who just wanted to sell the building to developers. The landlord gave them a month-to-month deal on the place and suddenly kicked them out when someone made him a deal he couldn’t pass up. It had been a mad scramble to find this place which, as it turned out, was bigger and cost less than the other place. Still, it was on a busy street, further in the city and in a neighborhood not quite as nice as their last. Jeremy held out hopes about his latest novel, which was selling well, and the whole autograph session at the airport seemed to indicate good things, and that maybe he and Amelia would soon have enough money to get a house, perhaps a condo.

  "I'd still have that landlord from the other place whacked if I knew any actual mobsters," Jeremy said as he walked toward the front porch, looking for the right key.

  "Hey, you could be homeless," Stephen said.

  Jeremy scanned up and down the block. He did not see Amelia's car anywhere. This made him feel a bit better as he unlocked the door leading to the stairs to their apartment. They tromped noisily up the wooden stairs to the door at the top, which opened easily and had no lock on it.

  "Wow," Ste
phen said as he looked around. "I like this place. How many bedrooms?"

  "Three.".

  Veronica entered the apartment and started looking around as well. She wandered into the living room and then through it onto the sun porch. She looked out on the street. Jeremy wondered if she was all right.

  "I think I like it better than your other place," Stephen said.

  "You’re right about it being a little old, though" Jeremy said, forcing himself to look away from Veronica. “The kitchen doesn't even have any kitchen cabinets, but it has this huge pantry. It has old wiring and a whole ‘old building feel’ to it. The other place was a little more modern. Plus, the other place was set back from the street and there was that park right next to it. I don't know, I kinda miss it."

  Just then the door at the bottom of the stairs made a noise that indicated someone had entered the foyer. Jeremy's heart jumped as he heard a key turning and then footsteps up the stairs. Amelia opened the door a moment later, looking as gorgeous as she had when she’d left that morning.

  "Hey, baby," Jeremy said and kissed her almost before she could get in the door.

  "Jeez," Amelia said with a laugh as she returned the kiss, "let me get in first."

  Hellos were exchanged between Amelia and Stephen. Stephen made more jokes and then Veronica and Stephen sat down in the living room. Amelia tapped Jeremy on the shoulder and motioned him into the bedroom. As soon as he was inside with her, she closed the door and kissed him, her hands around his neck and her lips parted, her tongue teasing his.

  "Now, that's the kind of hello I wanted to give," Amelia said. "How are they doing?"

  "Looks like it could be a bit of a rough weekend," Jeremy said. "I was talking with Stephen and it's looking like he's already decided on a divorce."

  "Great," Amelia said sarcastically.

  "I know. Let’s just try to make the best of it. We should get going."

  "I wish we had time for a quickie," Amelia said with a grin.

  "You always want it, don't you?" Jeremy said with his own grin.

  "You know you love it!"