by Gina Keliher
“Wow, you look amazing.” Jason says.
As does he. In jeans. But with a white shirt that would make any washing powder advert proud.
“Hello Jason.” Poppy says as she emerges from the kitchen. She’s wrinkling her nose, trying to sense a damned Being. “Off anywhere exciting tonight?”
I can see that she’s struggling to smile. She darts a look at me that I interpret as ‘that’s worse than I thought it would be.’ I smile back at her reassuringly. I can look after myself.
“Just thought as it’s such a beautiful evening we’d have dinner in the BeerGarden in town. I won’t keep Alice out late but don’t wait up.” He teases.
She looks like she wants to kill him.
As I turn to leave she’s right beside me. She squeezes my hand and takes my ‘old faithful’ cardigan that I thought I’d successfully smuggled. Then she darts upstairs. Damn.
It really is a beautiful evening and Jason drives the short distance in to town. Whatever awkwardness there may have been the other day is gone now. We laugh at stories from years ago and fill in the gaps of the last 5 years easily.
As the night progresses the darkness around him seems to let in a little light. I think I can save his Being.
I ask him to tell me more about his group of friends. I’ve told him a little bit of my friends, mentioning very vaguely we met during martial arts classes.
“Well, Adam you know,” he starts, giving me a look that says lets leave him alone for now, “and I moved in with a guy named David that helped me get my job. We work together and live together so gets a bit much sometimes.”
I nod, I understand as I spend virtually every day with Poppy. Love her but sometimes you need your own time and space.
“And then there’s Ian. Not sure how the others know him but he’s a funny one. Rich family but he’s not one for airs and graces. Quiet. People watcher.”
Well none of them sound pure evil.
“I am so glad we met up again Alice. It’s always good to see you.”
Dinner is over. We’re outside, he looks gorgeous and I wonder do things get any better than this?
“It’s good to see you too Jason and I’ve had a wonderful night. Even if you did have to bring up that story about the time I got my skirt tucked in my knickers.”
He laughs. “Can you believe it’s almost 11 O’clock already?”
“Well I guess we’d better get going.” I say regretfully.
We drive home and there’s that horrible awkward moment where I wonder do I kiss him on the cheek; will he walk me to the front door, is he going to want to see me again?
“I’ve got plans with Adam and the guys in the week,” moment spoiled, “but if you’re free on Friday maybe we could do something?”
“I’d love to.” I had fun; he’s still a great guy, regardless of the colour of his Being.
“Great. I’ll call you later in the week.”
I get out of the car and fumble around in my bag for my keys. I’m walking to the door when I feel a touch on my arm. I turn around and he’s close. I didn’t even hear him get out of the car.
“Goodnight Alice” he murmurs and then pulls me closer to him.
I’m going to faint. Burp. Throw up. But I don’t. He brushes his lips against mine and I close my eyes thinking that I don’t want this to ever end. It does, all too quickly and he’s smiling at me as he walks away.
I watch his car drive away and feel a smile starting to work its way up to my eyes.
“Will you get in here you idiot and tell me what happened!”
Ah, the spell is broken by the shrieking of my best friend.
“And then he kissed me.” I know I shrugged the shoulder that time.
“I had to hear all about your knickers stuck in your skirt, which I remember too, before you get to the good part?” She looks a little mad.
“Well that was the chronological order.” Makes sense to me.
We’re in the kitchen naturally reliving the night.
“Chronological! Have you been doing crosswords with your mum again? Ah! Tell me about the kiss”.
“It was just a kiss.” Why can’t I keep my shoulder still?
“It was just a kiss!! What kind of just a kiss? Sloppy, long, slooooooow, tongues?”
Why do I think this would be easier with mum? “It was a brush of the lips, light but slow and over too quickly.”
“Oooh, smooth. I thought Jason long legs would have been a tongue down your throat kind of guy.”
“OK that’s enough. He has plans with the guys this week but I’m seeing him again Friday so plenty of time to work out a plan. Any ideas yet?”
“No. It’s late. Let’s call it a night as don’t forget that Glen got his job so we’re meeting him for dinner tomorrow to wish him luck in his bird watching career. If he wasn’t so career minded I might find him sexy.”
“Good night Poppy.”
“But don’t you think he has that extremely intelligent look that could be sexy? I mean I’d have to buy him new glasses. Maybe we could go shopping…”
Chapter Ten
Stefan has found a great new Tapas restaurant in the Docklands. This is our group at its best. When there’s food on the table and everyone can eat without wishing they’d ordered what someone else was having.
We are meeting Glen for dinner before his first day tomorrow. Adrian wanted to meet him too, so we invited him along.
On the ride up, Poppy and I had talked about whether we should tell Glen the truth about us. We know that we all hit it off and he and Stefan have already become good friends. But is he ready to learn the truth about us so soon? There are people with pure Beings that know about the ‘Gifted’, but we’ve never introduced one to our group as Glen is the first one we’ve all met together.
We hadn’t reached a decision by the time we got to the restaurant.
With chorizo, peppers, meatballs, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, croquettes and suckling pig covering the table Adrian raises his glass. “Here’s to Glen and what promises to be a very exciting and rewarding career.”
“Cheers!”
Glen blushed slightly, “Thank you so much everyone, and here’s to me being lucky enough to meet you all so that I have someone to celebrate with.”
I can see Poppy measuring him up for new glasses so I kick her under the table.
But more curious is watching Stefan looking at Poppy measuring Glen up. He looks like a puppy that’s not being played with.
There are a few minutes of us tucking in to the fabulous food before Glen strikes up polite conversation. “So Adrian, what exactly is it that you do?” he asks.
We all look up expectantly.
“I mentor people.” Is the matter of fact response.
“Mentor people in what? And how do you know this lot? They don’t seem like the type to need guidance and aren’t Stefan and Annabel a little old for mentoring?”
Wow. What was that? Twenty questions? Is he prying?
“Mmm hmm.” It’s a pretty clever response. If in doubt put suckling pig in your mouth. Adrian’s nodding in the way people do with a mouth full of food. It’s a hang-on-a-minute-while-I-eat play for time.
“So tell us again what it is exactly you do, Glen.” Annabel asks.
That’s my girl. Turn the conversation around.
“Well I don’t know how much you know about Avian flu,” He starts. Look at us please. How much do you really think? “Well it’s basically an infection caused by bird flu viruses. It’s very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks and turkeys very sick and kill them. To try and be brief, there are strains that can affect humans. The first reported cases were back in 1997 and came from people in close contact with the secretions and excretions of contaminated birds.”
“Buddy, I’m eating here.” Robbie’s not afraid to speak with his mouth full.
“Sorry!” Glen smiles. And there are those dimples. “What I’m trying to do
is find a vaccine. Unfortunately flu viruses can become resistant to drugs and with ever changing strains it is a constant battle to keep up. Between Swine flu, Avian flu, your regular seasonal flu, even going back to Spanish flu in the earlier parts of the twentieth century, millions die every year. People think there are more pressing cures needed to be found but I really believe there’s an epidemic smouldering right underneath us.”
“Well that’s just chipper isn’t it.” Poppy says as she eats another cherry tomato.
“Sorry, it’s a bit heavy I know.” He’s smiles shyly. Dimples again. “This job is perfect for me. I can now continue my research in a well funded lab. Who knows? I might be the scientist who finds a cure one day!”
His optimism is contagious and his Being flares when he’s excited. I wonder how much of it wears off to other people without us being there to help.
He directs the questions back to Adrian. “You were saying about the mentoring,” he says, his body language showing true interest. “What do you mentor in?”
Adrian sighs as he looks at each of us in turn. When his gaze falls on Stefan, he nods sharply once. That was the confirmation that Glen could be trusted. It makes my stomach fall into my feet. “I mentor this amazing group of people to go out and find the most important figures of our future. To look into the very Being of people and see the ones that shine. The ones that will make a difference to our children’s future and our grandchildren’s history.”
Whoa, you thought you were heavy Glen.
“Ah.” For someone very smart he’s looking a little dumbfounded now. “So you’re like Professor Charles Xavier to his Wolverine?”
Oh boy! Once a geek, forever a geek.
“The people at this table all have a very special ability. They can’t fly, or produce storms. Their gift is very real.” Adrian pauses for effect. Now even Robbie has put his fork down. “They can sense immediately upon looking at someone who is good and who is evil. The good ones we help, promote might be a better word, through society.”
“Uh huh.”
Yeah, you’ve lost him now.
“And the bad ones?”
“We kill them.” Way to go Robbie. How to spoil good food.
“Ha ha, more Chorizo?” I try to pipe in but I think Glen is still choking on the last piece. His dimples have gone and he is definitely searching around for an escape route right now.
“If you could just kill off all the carriers of Avian flu, wouldn’t you?” Robbie asks.
Finally Glen swallows. He actually seems to be pondering the question.
“I suppose I would, yes. Saving lives is what I hope to achieve. But not through murder, because that is what I think you’re saying here.”
“Murder is a strong word, Glen.” Adrian’s voice is calm, almost seductive. “I think what Robbie is trying to say is that man kills for the betterment of man, and has done so since the very beginning. Even now, we are sending our boys and girls to wars in far away countries so that, we at home, are protected. We kill the enemy to protect the ones we love.”
Glen shrugs, “I understand about war.”
Robbie continues, “War against an enemy in another country is one thing. What about the enemies that are right on our doorstep; the enemy who hurt our sisters; the ones who sell drugs to our friends?”
Glen is frowning.
“If you could put all the murderers in the world, all the people who abuse children and spouse’s, robbers, drug lords and rapists in prison would you?”
“Well of course.”
“Do you think of them as being an enemy?”
Glen is still frowning, and somewhat floundering too, “Well, yes, I do.”
“And do you think there are enough prison cells in the world to hold every one of the aforementioned beasts?”
“Probably not, no. But you’re talking about vigilantes, taking the law into your own hands. You’re saying that’s it’s your own personal war where people actually die. You kill them? Murder is murder!”
“We’re not murderers Glen. This is a war. And it’s a war that is fought on our doorstep. And it’s an ancient war that has gone on for hundreds of generations. We find these guilty people, and we execute them. We all belong to a hierarchy that has permitted us to carry out the death sentence on people who can no longer seek redemption.”
“You said that you know who is good and who is evil? How? And you promote the good ones?” Not forgotten but lets change the murdering conversation at dinner time. Good call.
Poppy gives Glen that thousand watt smile. “We just sense the good in people. Like in you, Glen. I can’t explain it but from the moment we saw you on the underground we knew you were destined to do something great. And you got the job to continue your research.”
Albeit with a little help from Annabel’s contacts. Please don’t say anything Annabel I glare at her.
“So don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.” Duh Poppy, Duh.
Amazingly Glen laughs.
“Besides,” continues Poppy, “there’s far too much food for us to eat without you!”
Glen, Stefan and Robbie leave together shortly after. I know Stefan will keep it cool with Glen.
“Well I think that went very well.” Adrian says.
Oh boy.
Chapter Eleven
“Hi Robbie, It’s Alice. I wondered if Luke wanted to go to the park? It’s such a beautiful day I need a reason to be outside. Sure, see you then.”
I hang up the phone and check my purse to make sure I have enough cash for lunch and ice cream.
Poppy is still sleeping so I leave her a note and head out.
I catch the train into Waterloo and then the tube to CanaryWharf. It only takes me forty minutes so I’m a little early but I’m sure Luke won’t mind.
“Do you want me to buzz you in or shall we come down?”
“Just head on down, I’ll say hi to Adrian later.”
A few minutes later Robbie and Luke appear.
“Are you coming with us?” I ask Robbie.
“Sure, if that’s ok with you.”
“Definitely.” I beam. Sometimes I feel that I don't spend enough one on one time with Robbie - well, this'll be one on one and a half with Luke along too.
We wander over to MudchutePark. This is Luke’s favourite place and he knows every animal, every breed in the place. I think he has also named every goat, pig and cow. He runs ahead of us to say hi to Betty the cow but every few moments he glances back to make sure he hasn’t lost us.
“He doesn’t like being apart from you for any length of time, does he? How long has it been now?”
“Coming up to three years.” Robbie answers. “I still find it hard to believe that we’ll never speak to our parents again. Luke will do or say something and for a brief second my first thought is mum will laugh about that. Or dad will be so proud. Then I remember they’ll never know. I doubt that feeling ever goes away.” Their parents died in a car accident. A drunk collided with them on the motorway.
“I’m sorry.” It always sounds so lame but I’m almost choking at the thought of not having my parents around. “It must hurt so much.”
He looks at me with tears in his eyes and just nods.
What a way to spoil a beautiful day. Way to go Alice.
“I know you and the others think I’m a little bloodthirsty sometimes, but I’m doing it to protect Luke. Poppy and Stefan will find the pure people in this world. Well, maybe the pure people will find Poppy,” he smiles “so it’s left to me take out the damned.”
He looks almost apologetic and I suddenly realize that this sixteen year old young man, my friend, has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I’ve known Robbie for almost 2 years now and yet it feels like I’m only just meeting the real him.
Something inside me bubbles up and I burst into tears.
Why lately when I’m having an emotional outbreak does everyone laugh at me?
“Oh come on Alice, it’s not that bad. And I k
now you’ve got my back.” He’s chuckling. “I just like to stay focused. And if you’re worried I don’t have any fun, well let’s just go find those donkey’s and see who’s more of an ass.”
Rabbits, horses, guinea pigs, donkeys, chickens and who knows how many hundreds of other animals later, we’re ordering sausage sandwiches for lunch.
“We haven’t seen the geese.” Luke states so matter of fact. I think he’s going to drown in his ketchup.
We really could be here all day at this rate but it is fantastic weather and Luke is so happy (yes, we let him skip school but he’s not your average 9 year old). Luke doesn’t have the ability we do but Robbie told him shortly after their parents died as he wanted to share everything with him. As I know from experience, at 6 years old, it’s all fairies and goblins and he hasn’t questioned it any differently in the last few years.
“When I’m older, I think I’ll be a vet so I can work here every day.” Oops, no more skipping school then.
“I think that’s an excellent idea.” I say, being optimistic. But I’m wondering why is it that no one tells us at that age that unfortunately you can’t save them all? That part of a vet’s job is to put some animals down. Doesn’t sound that different from my job.
“Ok, let’s finish up here, chase some geese and then we can go tell Adrian how Betty the cow is doing today.”
“Geese chasing, geese chasing, cheese grating.” Or something like that comes out of Luke’s mouth as he runs off, leaving half of a really good sausage sandwich behind.
We’re walking back to Adrian’s. Luke is covered in ketchup and smells like a cow (we caught him trying to kiss Betty goodbye).
“Thanks for suggesting this today. Sometimes it’s nice to turn the ability off and just have a fun day with friends.” Robbie smiles.
As he’s puffing his hair out of his eyes I realize that he really is a handsome young man and then I have a horrible flash back to what Annabel said about him with his shirt off. I look away embarrassed.
