this?’
‘Just the truth. Or don’t let her see it. That’s up to you.’
‘I can’t take it. Really.’
‘Just try it on for a minute.’
He couldn’t see any harm in that, so he switched the glass to his left hand and held his right toward Elise. She slipped the bracelet over his hand and around his wrist.
It was warm from being on Elise.
It felt heavy.
‘Really beautiful,’ he said.
‘It’s a lot more than that.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s not just beautiful, it’s magical.’
Smiling, he raised his eyes to Elise. ‘It does card tricks?’ he asked.
‘I’m serious.’
‘A magic bracelet?’
‘That’s right. It was a gift to me. I’ve had it since I was sixteen. It was a present from . . . a very wonderful man. A poet. His name was Jimmy O’Rourke. We fell . . . quite madly in love. But he had to go back to Ireland.’
‘An Irishman?’
Elise nodded. ‘He was over here as a guest lecturer at UCLA.’
‘How old was he?’ Neal asked.
‘Oh, thirty-five.’
‘And you were sixteen?’
‘I know. Awful. But I was smitten. He was lovely, and you should’ve heard him talk.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, I met him when I was with some girlfriends over in Westwood Village. We were browsing through a bookstore, and . . . he started talking to me. He hardly had two words out of his mouth before I was head over heels. After that, we could hardly stay away from each other.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘They didn’t know anything about him. I made up stories about going over to a friend’s house. Or to the mall. Or to the beach. But the friend was always Jimmy O’Rourke, and my folks never caught on. They would’ve been horrified, no doubt about it – their daughter going around with a man that age. Not that we . . . there was nothing at all sordid about it. We were so much in love.’
Neal saw tears in her eyes.
‘Then the end of summer came, and Jimmy’s mother phoned him from Shannon. His sister’d been in a car accident. She was in a critical condition, and they didn’t know whether she would make it.’ Sniffing, Elise wiped her eyes.
‘Did she live?’ Neal asked.
‘I don’t know. I never heard from Jimmy again, after he left. Before he went away, though, he gave me this.’ With the tips of her fingers, she patted the bracelet on Neal’s wrist. ‘He called it a “faerie bracelet.” Apparently, back when he was a student at Trinity, he was out on the town one night and happened across a burning building. He heard someone screaming, so he rushed in. He found a blind woman upstairs. She was hysterical, didn’t know which way to go. So Jimmy picked her up and carried her outside. Saved her life. She was wearing this bracelet, and she gave it to him. She insisted that he take it. And she told him that he was free to give it away, whenever he pleased, if he should find someone deserving. So he gave it to me.’
‘Did you save his life?’ Neal asked.
‘No.’
‘Why did you deserve it?’
‘He loved me.’ Tears again came to her eyes. ‘He told me that he had never . . . loved anyone the way he loved me. And that I deserved to have a life full of wonders and strange delights.’ Again, she used the back of her hand to wipe her tears away. Then she sniffed. ‘So, that’s that.’
Neal’s throat felt tight. He swallowed, then said, ‘You never heard from him again?’
‘Never.’
‘Why? If he loved you so much . . .’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Did you ever try to get in touch with him?’
‘I wrote him letters. Scads of letters. I never mailed any of them, though.’ She shrugged. ‘I was afraid . . . they might be returned to me. Maybe marked “deceased,” or . . . I don’t know, I just didn’t have the courage. For all I really knew, he might’ve had a wife. He claimed that he didn’t, but who knows? I didn’t want to find out.’
‘Must’ve been awful for you.’
‘I was heartbroken. But I had the bracelet. I don’t know
‘Just the truth. Or don’t let her see it. That’s up to you.’
‘I can’t take it. Really.’
‘Just try it on for a minute.’
He couldn’t see any harm in that, so he switched the glass to his left hand and held his right toward Elise. She slipped the bracelet over his hand and around his wrist.
It was warm from being on Elise.
It felt heavy.
‘Really beautiful,’ he said.
‘It’s a lot more than that.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s not just beautiful, it’s magical.’
Smiling, he raised his eyes to Elise. ‘It does card tricks?’ he asked.
‘I’m serious.’
‘A magic bracelet?’
‘That’s right. It was a gift to me. I’ve had it since I was sixteen. It was a present from . . . a very wonderful man. A poet. His name was Jimmy O’Rourke. We fell . . . quite madly in love. But he had to go back to Ireland.’
‘An Irishman?’
Elise nodded. ‘He was over here as a guest lecturer at UCLA.’
‘How old was he?’ Neal asked.
‘Oh, thirty-five.’
‘And you were sixteen?’
‘I know. Awful. But I was smitten. He was lovely, and you should’ve heard him talk.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, I met him when I was with some girlfriends over in Westwood Village. We were browsing through a bookstore, and . . . he started talking to me. He hardly had two words out of his mouth before I was head over heels. After that, we could hardly stay away from each other.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘They didn’t know anything about him. I made up stories about going over to a friend’s house. Or to the mall. Or to the beach. But the friend was always Jimmy O’Rourke, and my folks never caught on. They would’ve been horrified, no doubt about it – their daughter going around with a man that age. Not that we . . . there was nothing at all sordid about it. We were so much in love.’
Neal saw tears in her eyes.
‘Then the end of summer came, and Jimmy’s mother phoned him from Shannon. His sister’d been in a car accident. She was in a critical condition, and they didn’t know whether she would make it.’ Sniffing, Elise wiped her eyes.
‘Did she live?’ Neal asked.
‘I don’t know. I never heard from Jimmy again, after he left. Before he went away, though, he gave me this.’ With the tips of her fingers, she patted the bracelet on Neal’s wrist. ‘He called it a “faerie bracelet.” Apparently, back when he was a student at Trinity, he was out on the town one night and happened across a burning building. He heard someone screaming, so he rushed in. He found a blind woman upstairs. She was hysterical, didn’t know which way to go. So Jimmy picked her up and carried her outside. Saved her life. She was wearing this bracelet, and she gave it to him. She insisted that he take it. And she told him that he was free to give it away, whenever he pleased, if he should find someone deserving. So he gave it to me.’
‘Did you save his life?’ Neal asked.
‘No.’
‘Why did you deserve it?’
‘He loved me.’ Tears again came to her eyes. ‘He told me that he had never . . . loved anyone the way he loved me. And that I deserved to have a life full of wonders and strange delights.’ Again, she used the back of her hand to wipe her tears away. Then she sniffed. ‘So, that’s that.’
Neal’s throat felt tight. He swallowed, then said, ‘You never heard from him again?’
‘Never.’
‘Why? If he loved you so much . . .’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Did you ever try to get in touch with him?’
‘I wrote him letters. Scads of letters. I never mailed any of them, though.’ She shrugged. ‘I was afraid . . . they might be returned to me. Maybe marked “deceased,” or . . . I don’t know, I just didn’t have the courage. For all I really knew, he might’ve had a wife. He claimed that he didn’t, but who knows? I didn’t want to find out.’
‘Must’ve been awful for you.’
‘I was heartbroken. But I had the bracelet. I don’t know
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