A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones)

by S. L. Baum

  “Hi, Summer,” I called out, greeting my new friend.

  “Hi, Emily!” Summer waved me over. “This is Rusty, Burke, and Delilah.” Summer introduced her three friends, when I reached her side.

  I recognized each of them from several classes yesterday. Summer was holding hands with Rusty, a tall, lanky guy with a shock of unruly red hair. He had that free spirited skater look that was so popular. Delilah, a head shorter than Summer, was a petite version of a runway model. Her long blonde hair was styled to perfection, expertly applied make-up, and a funky outfit completed her look. She definitely stood out in this crowd. Burke was the muscular athletic type, a typical high school jock. I’d seen him a hundred times before. He looked sincere though, not the usual smug face I was used to seeing on a jock. From the way he kept looking at Delilah it was obvious he was completely smitten with her. She wasn’t quite as taken with him it seemed.

  “Hi, guys, it’s good to meet you,” I greeted them nervously. I wasn’t used to the friendly small town thing. I usually tried to disappear at a school. I was pretty good at it too.

  “Emily’s uncle is the new Doc over at the medical center. He works with my mom. I met him yesterday,” she explained to the group. “I haven’t met your aunt yet,” she turned to me.

  “Aunt Rachel is opening a boutique, down the other end of Colorado Ave. I’m headed there after school, to help with the set up of the shop. Lucky me,” I told them.

  “You ski or board?” Burke directed his question to me.

  “Neither, but I do want to learn to ski.”

  “I’ll teach you. I’ve lived here all my life and started skiing before I was three. It’s easy. I prefer to snow board though. I’ll teach you that too,” he smiled, happy to offer his services. “I already promised Dee I would teach her when the time comes, you could join us,” Burke continued, smiling at Delilah – aka Dee.

  It sounded like he was trying to cinch the instructor’s position with her by making it a group thing.

  “I’m Delilah. I moved here last school year and just caught the end of ski season, but didn’t get to try it,” Delilah explained.

  “Where did you move from?” I asked her, grateful that I wasn’t the only new girl in school.

  “LA, my parents were tired of the big city thing. This is a really huge change for me. I’m used to malls and clubs and beaches. Where did you live in Canada?” she asked me, seemingly well informed of my back-story already.

  “Oh, an incredibly small town there too. So, this is not so different for me,” I lied convincingly. I was awfully good at it. I’d had years of practice.

  “I miss the sunny, sunny days. I miss tanning at the beach. I fake bake here just for some good overall color,” Delilah pouted, and any fool could see that Burke was in love with this little fashion diva. He walked over and put his arm around her tiny shoulders.

  “Yeah, not much of a tanner, as you can all see,” I laughed at the sight of my pale skin compared to Delilah’s bronzed version, or even Summer’s lightly sun kissed tones.

  “Oh you look great,” Summer chimed in, “the pale skin looks good with your dark hair and pale blue eyes. You look a lot like your uncle, same hair, same skin tone...”

  “Let’s get to class,” Rusty broke in, clearly bored, and started walking, pulling Summer along with him.

  As soon as the bell rang, releasing me from the confines of Telluride High School, I sauntered down the length of Colorado Avenue, slowly making my way to the storefront Catherine had rented for her boutique. This little town, surrounded by mountains, has remained little touched by time. The cars and trucks parked along the street were the only blaring evidence of the true year.

  If I squinted my eyes and pretended to see everything in sepia tones, I could be viewing a photograph taken over a hundred years ago. As I passed the New Sheridan Hotel, I tried to picture it as it was on its opening day. The colorful storefronts and many hand painted signs were a refreshing change from the ultra modern world in which we all find ourselves.

  My time-warp was broken by the sight of Catherine, standing on the side walk just up-ahead, waving at me. She was sporting a glorious grin, eager to show me the location. She seemed to thrive on our new beginnings.

  I worked with Catherine every day after school. James joined us after he finished work. It was during our first night of painting that we discovered the Chinese restaurant across the street. I ran over at six o’clock and picked up some take-out for our dinner. We were immediately hooked and it became a nightly routine. The three of us would sit on the floor, for our Chinese picnic dinner, and talk about our hopes for life in this town. Side by side by side we painted, set up displays, and generally worked our butts off until after midnight every night. It was an absolute asset to us that we needed less sleep and could push our bodies harder than the average person.

  Seven days later A Step in Time opened its doors.

  chapter two

  TIME FOR MAKE BELIEVE

  “What do you want to be, Charity?” Catherine repeated her question. I had spaced her out the first time. She was getting angry. I knew this because her original Scottish accent, which was nearly unperceivable to most people, would thicken and reappear whenever she was irritated.

  I still couldn’t get over the fact that we’d been in this town for just a few weeks and already I was getting sucked into the “community.” There was a Halloween Parade down the main drag on Saturday, in two days, and then a big Halloween Party later that evening. All my new friends were pushing for my attendance at both. James and Catherine were adding to the pressure so I felt boxed in, forced to comply.

  “Oh, just give me one of your dresses from the early eighteen hundreds, one of the ball gowns. I’ll go as English royalty,” I huffed, not happy with the situation. I wanted to stay at home and watch movies, like I always did.

  “You’ll look beautiful. How about the cream and gold one? No, the lavender will look gorgeous on you. You are wearing some of the jewels too. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” she cautioned when I started to frown again. “Remember, you stick out less when you go with the flow. Plus, this will be fun for all of us.” Catherine’s eyes pleaded for my approval.

  “Okay, Okay, I’ll find a way to be happy about it!” I cried out. “What are you and James going to wear?” I asked, hoping to pull her focus off of the grandiose plan for my attire. I could almost catch sight of it brewing in her brain.

  “We are doing the Fifties sock hop thing. I have that marvelous skirt and petticoat. With a fuzzy pink sweater around my shoulders and a scarf to tie back my hair, it will be perfect. James will be the leather clad greaser. The good girl paired with the bad boy. I love it,” Catherine bubbled over.

  I had to admit, with Catherine in charge of costuming, we would look flawless. She had a detailed memory when it came to fashion and style. If she had seen it once it would be duplicated with precision.

  “Not too many jewels, what if I get robbed? I don’t want to be responsible for them,” I added, determined to have the last word.

  “Nobody will think they’re real anyway,” she smiled.

  When Saturday afternoon arrived, Telluride was abuzz. The length of Colorado Ave. was filled with people, and dogs, in costume. I put my foot down, and refused to wear the dress during the day. I stayed in the boutique and went with the Fifties theme of James and Catherine. I wore rolled up jeans with a white t-shirt and a leather jacket. I put my hair in a high pony-tail and tied a scarf around it. That was the extent of my daytime costuming. Catherine was going to torture me with hair and make-up for the party tonight.

  Summer and Rusty popped into the store around one o’clock and had transformed themselves into anime characters. They looked so cute together. Delilah came in about thirty minutes later with Burke in tow. She was the perfect pixie fairy. Her blonde hair was piled onto her head in an up-do that was supposed to look like she did it in seconds but she had probably spent forever on the style. Burke was si
mply a soccer player. I’m pretty sure he was wearing his school uniform. They stayed to chat for a few minutes and made me promise, for the third time, that I would be at the party that night.

  “I’ll be there, I promise. Now go have fun.” I urged them away.

  “It sucks that you have to work here today,” Delilah pouted. I had quickly learned that Delilah loved to pout, and Burke loved to watch her pout. Well, Burke simply loved to watch her.

  “Oh, it’s okay. I volunteered so Catherine could go have fun with James. They both work a lot,” I reassured her, and promised again that I would see her tonight.

  If our goal was trying to blend, we failed miserably. All eyes turned to us as we entered the room. Maybe it was just curiosity over the new residents. But I think it was that we looked as though we had walked out of a time capsule.

  James and Catherine wore their authentic Fifties attire. Their outfits outshone any store bought costume. Catherine had pulled her waist length, wavy auburn hair into a pony and James had slicked his back, as was the style of the time. I concluded that every Hollywood costume designer would pale in comparison to Catherine’s skills.

  I dressed as the nobility of England once did. Catherine had insisted on doing my hair, but I had insisted on my normal, minimal make-up. I wore an amethyst necklace and earrings set, that was quite intricate in detail, and amethyst jewels in my hair as well. My dress was empire style, cinched just under the bust line and flowed straight to the ground. There were no over grown, wedding cake topper, petticoats worn with this style of dress, hence why I chose early and not mid eighteen hundreds. The fabric was the most beautifully embroidered lavender silk. I was sure it had taken Catherine weeks, when she had designed and hand sewn it. I felt proud to be wearing one of her creations.

  James and Catherine went straight for the dance floor and I searched the hall for a familiar face. I stood in the corner of the room waiting to spot someone from school, when that odd sensation of being watched washed over me. “Of course you are being watched. You just made a grand entrance,” I whispered to myself as I scanned the room. Within minutes I spotted Summer and the gang, waving wildly, and went to join them.

  “Wow, Emily, you look amazing. That’s like, a real costume,” Summer greeted me during the lull in the music.

  “Yeah, Aunt Rachel likes to design period pieces. Did you see them?” I questioned, trying to be heard over the DJ.

  “We saw them dancing a second ago. Did she do those too?”

  “Yep... I’m thirsty. Know where I can get some water?”

  “This way,” fairy Delilah shouted and led me to the refreshment area.

  As I followed behind them, I could still feel someone’s eyes burning a hole in my back. I did a quick scan of the room, trying to figure out who was giving me that creepy feeling. I hated being the center of attention. I was entirely too self conscious to have agreed to attend this party anyway. I wouldn’t be completely at ease again until I was at home, wearing a pair of pajama pants, and a tank top. I tried to let go of my wariness and just have fun. After an hour or so it worked.

  I channeled my inner teenager, and danced. I closed my eyes and gave in to the music. As I danced I sang the lyrics to every song I knew - along with Summer, Rusty, Delilah, and Burke. Toward the end of the evening Delilah let Burke lead her onto the dance floor, for a song with a slow pounding rhythm. Summer and Rusty soon followed.

  I moved to a corner, in the shadows again, where I felt most comfortable and where I could observe almost everyone in the hall. I watched the couples hold each other close as the steady beat was pounding in my head. I closed my eyes, imagined myself dancing with someone, and swayed to the music, keeping my lids tightly sealed. I could almost feel hands gently moving up the sides of my arms, to hold my face close. My skin came alive and goose-bumps dotted the entire surface of my skin. I could feel the tears starting to form.

  I pushed the memories away.

  I opened my eyes as the song came to an end, blinking wildly to rid myself of the tears that threatened to flow. I wanted to go home, I couldn’t be here anymore. I looked around trying to find either Catherine or James but instead found him. A tall, blonde, muscular, masked superhero was standing near the exit, staring at me. There was something oddly familiar about his mouth...

  “You look tired,” Catherine’s head popped into my view.

  “Yes, I’m ready to go. Are you guys okay to leave now?” I asked trying to look around her.

  He wasn’t there anymore.

  “Yes let’s go. Aren’t you glad you came? We had a blast. I’ll go get Jason. He’s talking to some of the staff from the medical center. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay, not going anywhere,” I answered.

  As Catherine danced away I spotted him again, our eyes locked, and then he abruptly walked out the door.

  For only being in Telluride such a short time, it was amazing how swiftly routine came. Everyone at the bakery, the little markets, and various restaurants we frequented, around town and in Mountain Village, already knew who we were and greeted us so kindly every time we walked in. Almost unconsciously, we had slipped into our roles, as members of this community.

  We decided to start our exploring the weekend after Halloween and hiked along the San Miguel River. Catherine was in heaven. She loved walking along the water’s edge, that’s one of the reasons they’d picked Telluride. We packed lunches and stayed out for hours, exploring all we could, until it was too dark to stay out any longer. I made mental notes of all the places that I wanted to come back to on my own. Hiking without company suited me better. I could push myself farther and try to reach more places than I could with James and Catherine along. They were always so worried that one of us would injure ourselves, and someone from the town might witness it.

  I went out on my own the next Saturday, in the late afternoon. Catherine was at the boutique and James was working in his lab at the house. Instead of going back to the river I decided to explore the ski trails that encircled our house.

  At first I climbed in the wide open areas that were clearly meant for skiing once the blanket of snow was again spread across the mountain. Then I ventured into the forested areas, thick with trees that reached up into the heavens. The trees blocked out the sun and without its warmth, the cold crept in. The light sweater I had paired with my favorite jeans kept me warm enough though. Cold weather rarely affected me. The jacket tied around my hips might not be needed.

  I climbed higher up the mountain side, digging my fingers into the earth to help pull myself up the steeper inclines. My nails broke and my hands were gouged by small rocks and twigs along my path. But I pressed on, wanting to lose myself in nature, to disappear into the forest like a woodland creature. As I reached one of the smaller peaks I walked into a clearing and my breath caught in my throat. The view in front of my eyes was extraordinary. The peaks of the tree covered mountains were spotted with lines and splatters of white snow, all the colors blending together in an ever changing palate. It was painted by the hand of God.

  The fragrance of the mountain was an intricate conglomerate of all things nature. I could smell the sweet dew that clung to the plants in the earth. The soil was pungent, but still pleasant. The fallen leaves, scattered across the mountainside, were in various stages of decay. Each species of tree had its own distinct scent. It was a bouquet like no other. Each component added to the delicate balance that I deeply inhaled.

  As the sun started to set, it cast marvelous shadows across the mountainside. I sat down on the damp earth and watched the shadows stretch and play as the sun slowly disappeared. When it was twilight I decided to head back.

  Climbing down required a more concentrated effort, to keep from losing my balance. As I made my way down a particularly steep area I became distracted. I thought I saw someone else walking through the trees. I was sure I’d heard twigs breaking in the distance. My foot slipped on loose debris and my careful descent turned into a clumsy fall.r />
  I started to tumble down the slope. My body was twisting, my limbs flailing, as I tried to control my descent. I reached out, trying to grab onto anything that would stop me. I heard a snap and felt a twinge in my right foot, as I finally came to rest.

  “Hey are you okay over there?” I heard a male voice call out from a distance.

  Oh crap, someone had seen me fall. James was going to be so mad. He always lectured me on the importance of being safe. I struggled to find my voice as I sat up and began to assess the situation.

  “Fine,” I called out still not looking up to catch sight of where the guy was.

  “Stay still, I’m coming to you,” he yelled back.

  I examined my hands. They were badly scratched and bleeding. There was nothing to be done for the nails, but the skin I had hope for.

  “Heal quicker,” I whispered aloud, wishing I could control my body’s pace. Relief washed over me as the blood stopped flowing and the scratches smoothed over. The ankle was another story, it was broken. I took my boot and sock off, and straightened my ankle out as best as I could. If I didn’t get the bones in their proper places it would heal all wrong and then James would really be annoyed.

  I heard scrambling behind me and in one swift motion, I rubbed my hands together and then wiped at my face, trying to remove any traces of blood that might still linger on my skin. Hands clasped my shoulders. I flinched and looked up.

  It was now quite dim but my eyes could easily make out the face, the mouth. My lungs took a sharp intake of air. It was him, the blonde Adonis from the dance.

  “Wow you really took a tumble there. Try to stay still so I can check for broken bones,” he ordered. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” He leaned in closer unable to see as clearly as I.