Linked Through Time

by Tornese, Jessica

  His ice blue eyes pierced me to my soul. I found myself entranced, as if everything around me had turned slow motion. It wasn’t possible, but I couldn’t help but feel as if I had seen these same distinct eyes before.

  He was at my side in seconds, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a tight embrace. His lips brushed my cheek and I blushed, checking the room to make sure no one had seen. But everyone was gone. It was just me and this amazing boy… alone.

  Without letting go, the boy murmured into my ear, “Sorry I missed your birthday yesterday. Dad made me close the store and by the time I got here, your mom said you’d had an accident and were in bed. Are you OK?” His voice, full of concern, tickled my ear and sent shivers down my back.

  I could feel my cheeks go two shades darker than embarrassment, my tongue tied up to the roof of my mouth. I had never felt so flustered before, but then again, I had never had a boy so incredible speak to me before, let alone kiss me.

  Louise entered the kitchen, saving me from an immediate reply. She carried another bucket, which she promptly dropped the moment she saw my visitor. Her eyes lit up and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. “Dave!” she called out.

  He picked her up and swung her in a circle. “Hey, Louise! Brought something for you.” He pulled a small rectangle from his pocket.

  “Bazooka bubble gum!” she shrieked, snatching it from his hand as if it were gold. “Thanks, Dave! I’m so glad you two are back together again,” she said, shooting a smug look in my direction.

  I had no idea what she meant, but I couldn’t help but smile, watching the two of them. The face and name clicked together in my brain. Dave. Dave Slater, Sarah’s old boyfriend. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Out of the whole bizarre mess, something good had to come from it, and I was looking right at it. Dave Slater was my boyfriend.

  “I knew your sister would come around,” Dave said, as he chucked me lightly on the shoulder. His eyes held a serious tone to his playful nature, and I raised my eyebrows. What was their story, my aunt and Dave?

  Taking in his rugged tanned features, I shivered. I thought he’d been good looking as an adult, but the younger version of Dave Slater was something else entirely. My stomach flip-flopped as the sparks of attraction zipped through my body. Dave reached over and smoothed my hair, tucking some loose strands behind my ear. The faint touch sent me reeling and I leaned back against the sink. Get a grip, Kate, I told myself. Don’t scare him away by acting all freakish.

  Dave leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “Do you think we could meet tonight, at our usual place?” Mischief twinkled in his eyes. “I have to give you your birthday present.” And then he winked at me so Louise wouldn’t see.

  I looked between Louise and Dave, stalling my answer. I felt overwhelmed at the idea of meeting this boy for the first time, alone. It would be my first date with any boy… ever. “I don’t know. I… I guess so,” I managed to stutter. Dave’s mere presence had me all anxious and acting like an idiot. My mind whirred at a hundred miles an hour, already picturing what it would be like to hold his hand, touch his chest… “Are you sure you want to meet at the usual place?” I asked, hoping he would give me some sort of clue as to where to go.

  “Sarah!”

  Gran’s voice broke into my thoughts, breaking my hypnotic trance on Dave. I jumped away from him, a guilty blush warming my cheeks. I felt like I’d been caught doing something wrong. Could Gran read my thoughts? I hoped not.

  “Sarah,” he whispered hurriedly, “you know the only place we can meet is the rapids. I close the store at eight. I’ll be waiting for you.” He swept from the room before I could respond.

  “Sarah! If you don’t get out here, I’m sending your brothers in to get you!” The stern warning came from the steps of the porch.

  The feelings that rushed through my body were new and intoxicating. I felt light, weightless, as if I could walk on air. My heart felt as if it had swelled three sizes, filling my chest with an unnatural bliss that was so foreign to the sulky demeanor I’d adopted lately. I couldn’t care less about dishes and chores or peeing in an outhouse. Dad was right, for once. Every cloud did have a silver lining, and that lining was about six foot two with arms the size of culverts.

  Hurrying from the kitchen, I was aware that the dishes remained untouched; the cream separator alone with at least fifty pieces to wash. I would probably be in trouble, but I couldn’t find a reason to care.

  I raced out the door, springing over the three steps from the porch and landing gracefully in the spongy grass. Nothing could bring me down off this natural high. As much as I hated to describe what I was feeling in such a cliché fashion, words couldn’t have been more true: I had fallen in love at first sight.

  * * * *

  “You don’t know how lucky you are to date a senior,” Louise said. “You’re even luckier he took you back. Why did you break up with him anyway? Dave’s the cutest boy in the whole school. Maybe the whole world. I’ll bet he’s a great kisser.” She sighed. “I can’t wait to get my first kiss. Jimmy Walls tried to kiss me behind the bleachers at school, but I pushed him down. He’s no Dave.”

  I knelt alongside Louise, dodging her incessant questions about Dave. The two of us had been sentenced to weeding the potato fields as a result of the unfinished dishes. The sun beat down relentlessly and my back ached from hunching over the rows of plants. It wasn’t even noon yet, and dark circles of sweat had soaked through my cotton T.

  Watching Louise carefully, I made sure to pull out only the weeds instead of the actual plant, although the weeds and plants looked the same.

  “How long do we have to do this?” I asked, discouraged by the sheer size of the field. Rows and rows of plants stretched for what seemed like miles in every direction. “Isn’t there some sort of child labor law in place?” I said, the joke going over Louise’s head. She had no sense of sarcasm.

  “They’ll call us when lunch is ready. It’s your fault we’re out here anyway. Usually, Matthew, Pat and Dean have to do this part. Hey! You’re missing the bugs!” Louise pointed at a few tiny gray roly-poly bugs on the leaves of the plant in front of me. She picked them off and squeezed them between her fingers, their shells making a definite sickly crunch.

  “My bad,” I said, turning my head in disgust. I have to weed and pick the bugs off? Gross. Why was everything so barbaric?

  The sun was directly overhead when a sharp clanging sound came from the direction of the farmhouse. Louise sprang up and sprinted down the path, her bare feet kicking up dirt as she ran.

  I sighed with relief. My fingernails were caked with the rich black soil and my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I needed a shower and a massage. Holding the small of my back, I hobbled like an old woman across the fields toward the house. The closer I got, my thoughts turned from my aches and pains to my date that night with Dave. A Senior!

  There were so many things to worry about; mostly, how I was going to pull off my hardest performance yet. Could I pretend to be Sarah without him getting suspicious? He mentioned a present, too, and I shivered with anticipation. A date with him was the perfect gift. Knowing my father wouldn’t approve of the date was like icing on the cake. I hadn’t been allowed to date back home, my father forever treating me like a baby. And now, I was doing the forbidden, which made the date all the more thrilling. Knowing he was that much older than me, I was positive Dave would want to do more than just kiss me on the cheek, and my face grew hot just thinking about it. My friends would be sick with jealousy!

  Once again, I was the last to arrive for mealtime. The food vanished quickly and I barely had time to stab a slice of meat and potato from the table before it was gone. The room echoed with noisy chatter; I sat amidst the sea of clanging plates and raucousness, my mind still on the night ahead. What would I wear? What should I say?

  Matthew slammed into my side, jolting me back to the present. He, Patrick, and Dean were jostling each other, fighting to re
ach the last slice of homemade bread. Plucking the piece from the table, I handed it to my father, the skinniest of the bunch. The other two boys groaned and pushed away from the table. Winking conspiratorially at my father, I slid the remainder of my plate in his direction. I felt sorry for his skin and bones physique, even though forty years from now, he turned out just fine.

  Stretching to the ceiling, I gave a huge exaggerated yawn and sighed. “I think I’ll wash up after lunch… er, I mean, dinner. Those weeds kicked my butt,” I said trying to join the conversation.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me like I had grown a second head.

  Gran threw her hands into the air and made the sign of the cross on her chest. “Lord, give me patience,” she muttered.

  “What? All I said is that I was going to take a bath. My back is killing me.”

  At the table, Rodney growled in his throat and kicked his chair away from the table. “You want a bath, Miss High and Mighty? I’ll give you a bath.” Without another word, he grabbed me by the arm and swung me up over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

  The rest of the children stood frozen, watching with curiosity.

  Shrieking, I kicked my legs in protest. I beat my fists on his muscular back but he never flinched. Nobody at the table made an effort to stop him.

  As we passed through the doorway, I made a vain attempt at grasping the doorframes, my fingers curled around the edges like claws.

  Rodney pushed through the porch and out into the yard, heading straight for the pig’s pen.

  “No! No! Anything but that!” I screeched, afraid of the hulking, filthy beasts behind the fence.

  A few yards before the pen, Rodney stopped at the water pump and turned to the giant stock tank. Stagnant water with an oily film on top filled the giant barrel to the rim. Flies floated lifeless on the surface. Rodney lifted me effortlessly, pausing to let his intent sink in.

  I opened my mouth to scream but closed it quickly as he launched me headfirst into the chilly water. I broke through the surface, sputtering and coughing on the water that poured from my nose. Hair clung to my cheeks in thick clumps. Flicking a fly from my arm in disgust, I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

  Rodney stood next to the tank, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face.

  “What was that for you, big Neanderthal?” I managed to choke out.

  Rodney shook his head. “What the hell is the matter with you, Sarah? Just because you hit your head doesn’t mean you can act all stupid. Quit shirking your duties around here; we’re tired of picking up your slack. We’ve been doing it far too long.” His face clouded over and his eyebrows knit together as he thought. “I’ll tell Dave he’s not allowed to come over anymore if you can’t do your share,” he threatened.

  I swallowed my retort and went for the apologetic route instead. “I’m sorry, Rodney. I’ll do better, I promise. I got so hot from weeding today; I just needed to cool off, is all.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re all hot. If you get hot, go jump in the river. Baths are Saturday nights, and that’s it. You may not like the way we live, you’ve made that clear before, but you’re making Mom crazy and I won’t stand for it.”

  Sitting in the stock tank, the water up to my shoulders, I processed the new information. I couldn’t bathe until Saturday? I waited until Rodney walked away before climbing from the giant barrel. Wringing my shirt onto the grass, I shivered in the warm afternoon sun. Everything seemed so… raw and primitive. I wished I had paid more attention to my dad’s stories about when he was a kid. I always thought he’d been exaggerating about not having water or shoes or a bathroom. Parents always told stories about how their life was harder, but I was beginning to realize how true the stories were.

  Tripping across the drive in my soggy clothes I steered clear from Rodney, who was now tinkering under the hood of the family car. “Note to self, stay on Rodney’s good side,” I mumbled, intimidated by his brute strength and power.

  “Pssst…” A voice hissed from under the criss-crossed limbs of apple trees in the farmyard. I turned to see Dean, my father…. er, brother. “What’s up Da… Dean?” I called to the boy hidden behind the many twisted trunks.

  His thin face peeked out, shy and sincere. “I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for giving me the extra bread at dinner. Matthew and Patrick are always stealing my food,” he complained. “I know things have been bad for you lately, and since the accident, well… I just wanted to let you know I can help you if you need it.” My father’s expression was genuine and heartfelt, so understanding for such a little kid.

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep back the tears that pricked the corners of my eyes. Here was my dad, a skinny little eight-year-old that could be blown away in a strong wind, and he was offering to help me. It was the first time I felt accepted instead of criticized and I found it hard to swallow past the lump that had formed in my throat. Tentatively, I reached out my arms, aching to protect the boy that was my father. Dean sprung into my arms and buried his face into my damp shirt.

  Pushing him away to arm’s length, I was surprised to find some sort of mothering instinct take root in my heart, despite the fact I’d been annoyed and fighting with my adult father for years. For some reason, seeing the way he lived as a child, his hardships, and the way he had to scrape to get by hit me like a punch to the stomach. “Let’s make a pact then,” I said. “If you help me, then I’ll help you. I’ll make sure Matthew and Patrick leave you alone,” I promised.

  The moment ended too soon, and Dean was clambering over the fence, racing to the barn.

  I watched him run, trying to remember the last time I had hugged my dad without having an ulterior motive, like needing money or a ride somewhere. Sadly, I couldn’t think of any instance at all.

  * * * *

  All afternoon, I crawled on my hands and knees through the potato field. The only thing keeping me sane was the promise of my first date with Dave. I sighed. He was so much better looking than anyone at my high school. I wished my friends could see me, see him. They’d never believe I scored a guy like Dave in a million years.

  Finally, the sun moved down in the sky, casting a soft glow through the rows of trees that bordered the fields. Following Louise along the dirt path to the farmhouse, I counted the rows I had weeded. Seven. Louise had done ten. I knew I would have to step things up if I didn’t want to get in more trouble with Rodney. Problem was, I was going as fast as I could. It’s not like I had done this before.

  Jostling bodies squeezed into the screen room, some removing coveralls and boots, others stopping to drink from a ladle that rested inside a bucket placed on the porch windowsill. I licked my dry sunburned lips and reached for a drink. I scooped the last of the water from the bucket and dropped the ladle back in with a thud.

  “Last one to finish has to refill it,” quoted Janice smugly.

  I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out and whisked the bucket away. I made my way across the yard to the rusty water pump and after straining a bit, pulled the handle up to release the flow of water. Cool, clear water flowed from the pipe and splattered at my feet. I filled the bucket and then stuck my head into the powerful stream. Icy water ran down my face and neck rinsing the gritty feel of dirt from my skin. Awkwardly, I lugged the bucket back to the house, stumbling every few steps and splashing the ground with great splotches of water. Half the contents had spilled before I placed the bucket back in its spot. I felt a new respect for Louise, my “sister” who was half my size and yet, carried a full bucket of water better than I did.

  I raced through dinner, barely tasting whatever had been set before me. I knew better than to ask what had been served anyway. My father’s stories ran through my head as I recalled him talking about eating a variety of wildlife just to keep the family fed. He told me they’d eaten everything - fox, raccoon, squirrel, deer, grouse, and even turtle. My hunger from working outside all day far outweighed my curiosity, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep t
he meal down if the truth of what we were eating were revealed. I turned my thoughts to the night ahead - meeting Dave at the rapids.

  The clock slowly approached eight and I realized I hadn’t changed. Looking down at my filthy jeans and sweaty T-shirt, I was appalled that Dave would see me this way. “Gran… er, Mom? Is it all right if I meet Dave for a little while after dinner? He said he wanted to give me a birthday present.” I tried to keep my voice even.

  I noticed Rodney elbow Bobby in the side, shooting him an “I told you so” look, referencing his point from the argument in the barn.

  Gran didn’t bother turning from the wood stove to answer. “Be back before ten and make sure you shut the gate after you. Don’t want the cows out again,” she said, reminding me of the night of my accident.

  I cleared my plate and skipped lightly up the stairs, barely feeling the aches from the day. A natural high was taking over my body in my anticipation of my first date ever. Entering the yellow room I shared with Louise and Janice, I looked around for some sort of help. What I needed was a magician. Without make-up, a shower, and a hair straightener, there wasn’t much I could do to improve my position. It was hard to believe I shared such a small room with two other girls; even harder to believe we all shared the same bed. I’d never had to share anything before. I pulled open the drawers to the wooden dresser and moaned. The drawers were practically empty, holding exactly four button-down blouses, four T-shirts, six pairs of underwear, two bras, and three pairs of tights.

  Looking around in dismay, I pawed through the clothes hanging on the metal rod on the wall. Three heavy coats, four pleated skirts of varying size, four sweaters, and two long sleeve flannel shirts rounded out my choice of clothing.

  How could three girls share such a limited amount of clothing? It was unthinkable.

  I frowned. I had nothing to wear on my date with Dave, plus I smelled like I’d just participated in a wrestling match with the barnyard animals.