I see the way she looks at you. I
can still sense the way she feels for you. She’s good at locking her feelings
away except in the end, she’s still a young woman with a delicate heart. If you
choose not to give up your current life, you know you’ll have to leave here
eventually to keep up the façade of why you don’t age. If that’s the case, don’t
get her invested in something she’ll never have.”
“How do I know what to do?” he asked, as
confused as he was the day he first discovered his ability.
“I can’t answer that for you. What I can say
is that the feeling you described, not being able to see visions of her
clearly, those are indicators. It may be a once in a lifetime thing, I don’t
know. Those feelings are involuntary and happen with a person you are supposed
to be with. You can still make the choice of what to do. It is in your
control.”
She stood up, picking up a few more plates
and walking to the kitchen door before glancing over her shoulder in the same
way her granddaughter did.
“But if you
hurt her, you’ll deal with me.” She winked, and continued on to the sink. AJ
picked up a couple dishes, brought them into the kitchen, and lost himself in
thought.
4
Old Friends
“Listen
Helen, I’m going to take a ride to see a friend, probably stay the night there.
I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow, and I’m just gonna head straight to work.”
Helen was always up late and always early to
rise. AJ hadn’t been surprised to see her reading at the kitchen table just as
the sun was rising. He had wanted to get into the shop early and perhaps
convince Bob to let him head out early as well.
“That’s wonderful! Glad you have a friend
close by.”
“Just a couple hours away. Close enough.”
“If you need anything, I’ll write our phone
number down for you. Call any hour; we’ll be here for you. But first, you
better have some breakfast.”
She quickly arose from her chair, starting
the morning clanging of the pots and pans as she created a spread fit for a
king. AJ nodded, turning down the hallway that led to his room. He had showered
the evening before at Grams. With the abysmal dreams still overrunning his
mind, he wanted to wash away the memories – and the sweat – before heading to
go to work.
He laughed to himself, knowing as soon as he
got there he’d be sweating again.
The cool water felt good against his body. He
hadn’t been used to such heat in a long time. In addition to manual labor,
either. Living in an apartment, there’s not much yard work to do and what
little there was he rarely did anyway.
He let the water hit him and run down, taking
a moment to relax and wash away the recollection of the previous night’s bad
dreams. As his soapy hands reached his stomach, he gave himself a pep talk
about trying to get in a little workout here or there. With all the good food
Helen had been whipping up for him, he was going to have to work a little
harder at keeping his abs visible. Seeing as how there was probably no gym, he would
need to find alternative measures.
As he dried off, he glanced out the window of
the bathroom and saw Addie and Rose eating their breakfast at the picnic table
in the yard. He found himself checking out the windows often in an effort to
make sure Joseph wasn’t there. To think of how the bully had treated Addie and
what Rose could have gone through, made his skin crawl.
He didn’t know what to make of his anger. He
knew the rules of his gift prevented him from being anything more than her
friend. Love not a reasonable outcome, especially since he remained unsure of
what exactly he was feeling. He hadn’t been seriously interested in
relationships anyway. In fact, he hadn’t felt anything towards a woman in a
very long time.
Looking in the mirror, he reiterated to
himself what his goals had been as he
can still sense the way she feels for you. She’s good at locking her feelings
away except in the end, she’s still a young woman with a delicate heart. If you
choose not to give up your current life, you know you’ll have to leave here
eventually to keep up the façade of why you don’t age. If that’s the case, don’t
get her invested in something she’ll never have.”
“How do I know what to do?” he asked, as
confused as he was the day he first discovered his ability.
“I can’t answer that for you. What I can say
is that the feeling you described, not being able to see visions of her
clearly, those are indicators. It may be a once in a lifetime thing, I don’t
know. Those feelings are involuntary and happen with a person you are supposed
to be with. You can still make the choice of what to do. It is in your
control.”
She stood up, picking up a few more plates
and walking to the kitchen door before glancing over her shoulder in the same
way her granddaughter did.
“But if you
hurt her, you’ll deal with me.” She winked, and continued on to the sink. AJ
picked up a couple dishes, brought them into the kitchen, and lost himself in
thought.
4
Old Friends
“Listen
Helen, I’m going to take a ride to see a friend, probably stay the night there.
I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow, and I’m just gonna head straight to work.”
Helen was always up late and always early to
rise. AJ hadn’t been surprised to see her reading at the kitchen table just as
the sun was rising. He had wanted to get into the shop early and perhaps
convince Bob to let him head out early as well.
“That’s wonderful! Glad you have a friend
close by.”
“Just a couple hours away. Close enough.”
“If you need anything, I’ll write our phone
number down for you. Call any hour; we’ll be here for you. But first, you
better have some breakfast.”
She quickly arose from her chair, starting
the morning clanging of the pots and pans as she created a spread fit for a
king. AJ nodded, turning down the hallway that led to his room. He had showered
the evening before at Grams. With the abysmal dreams still overrunning his
mind, he wanted to wash away the memories – and the sweat – before heading to
go to work.
He laughed to himself, knowing as soon as he
got there he’d be sweating again.
The cool water felt good against his body. He
hadn’t been used to such heat in a long time. In addition to manual labor,
either. Living in an apartment, there’s not much yard work to do and what
little there was he rarely did anyway.
He let the water hit him and run down, taking
a moment to relax and wash away the recollection of the previous night’s bad
dreams. As his soapy hands reached his stomach, he gave himself a pep talk
about trying to get in a little workout here or there. With all the good food
Helen had been whipping up for him, he was going to have to work a little
harder at keeping his abs visible. Seeing as how there was probably no gym, he would
need to find alternative measures.
As he dried off, he glanced out the window of
the bathroom and saw Addie and Rose eating their breakfast at the picnic table
in the yard. He found himself checking out the windows often in an effort to
make sure Joseph wasn’t there. To think of how the bully had treated Addie and
what Rose could have gone through, made his skin crawl.
He didn’t know what to make of his anger. He
knew the rules of his gift prevented him from being anything more than her
friend. Love not a reasonable outcome, especially since he remained unsure of
what exactly he was feeling. He hadn’t been seriously interested in
relationships anyway. In fact, he hadn’t felt anything towards a woman in a
very long time.
Looking in the mirror, he reiterated to
himself what his goals had been as he
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