A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (10 page)

We walked back to the gondola after we left
the restaurant. Link reached for my hand, his grip gentler than
before. I wondered if he still thought I was injured. I was ruining
this, I could feel it. I wasn’t normal, I didn’t deserve this. The
gondola ride didn’t hold the same magic it had earlier that
evening. My “carriage” was no longer filled with anticipation and
wonder. Now it was filled with uncertainty, doubt, and questions I
couldn’t truthfully answer.

Link drove to my house and helped me unload
all of the day’s ski gear.

“
What are you doing
tomorrow?” I asked.

“
Working,” he immediately
answered.

“
Oh that sounds about as
fun as my day will be. I have to finish a history paper and prepare
a class presentation. I really need to crack down. You want to
trade?” I offered with a weak smile.

“
No thanks, I’m done with
that. Once was enough for me,” he mirrored my smile.

“
Yeah,” I answered. For me
too, I thought.

“
What’s the paper
about?”

“
Pearl Harbor and the
U.S.’s entrance into World War II. I’m going to wear a dress from
the Forties for extra credit. Very cool,” I said.

“
I’d like to see that,” he
smiled a more genuine smile.

“
Meet me after school
Friday and you can.”

“
It’s a date.”

“
Goodbye, Link, thanks for
tonight,” I hugged him goodbye.

“
You’re welcome,” he
whispered and his lips grazed my forehead with a gentle kiss. My
skin seemed to smolder from the warmth of his lips for hours after
he left.

The following week passed slowly. Delilah
looked perfect, dressed as an adorable flapper for her presentation
on Prohibition. It was Rusty’s turn the next day and, seeing no
need for extra credit, he wore no costume and brought no props.
Wednesday was Burke’s turn and he brought in a helmet that belonged
to a relative who had fought in the war. On Thursday we learned all
about the Gold Rush from Summer. She went the extra mile, for her
extra credit, and brought in a bucket with sand and small rocks
she’d painted, with gold spray paint. She put water in the bucket
at school and had the students simulate panning for gold. Summer
was an overachiever. I told myself – if she can do all of that,
then I can wear a costume and give a simple presentation the next
day.

That night I called Link, I hadn’t heard
from him all week. I kept hoping I hadn’t ruined everything, but
this silence was a deafening sign. As the phone began to ring I
hoped for voicemail. Then I could leave a message telling him not
to bother with seeing me tomorrow after school. “Oh crap,” I
whispered as the thought occurred to me that maybe he had already
forgotten and this call would just remind him. I was just about to
hang up when I heard his voice.

“
Hello,” he
answered.

“
Hey, Link, It’s Emily,” I
tried to sound nonchalant.

“
Hi, Emily,” he sounded
distant.

“
So maybe now wasn’t a good
time to call. Sorry...”

“
No I’m sorry. I sort of
broke our routine. I’ve just had a really busy week and that is my
lame excuse for why I haven’t called you.”

“
Don’t apologize. I’m just
calling because tomorrow is my presentation, but you don’t need to
worry about meeting me after school. So just forget it, it’s no big
deal.” I got the words out hurriedly, hoping he would
agree.

“
No, I said it’s a date, so
where should I meet you?”

I was torn between my desperate need to be
with him and the reality that it would be better if I never laid
eyes on him again. “Aunt Rachel is dropping me off at school
tomorrow morning. I’ll be walking to the boutique after school. You
can just look for me on Colorado, or meet me at the boutique, or
not. Whatever you decide is fine.” I gave him a free pass, not
wanting him to feel obligated.

“
Okay, I’ll see you
tomorrow,” he replied.

“
Goodbye,” I
whispered.

“
Goodbye.”

I actually had one authentic outfit from the
Forties. It was purchased in Nineteen Forty-One. The outfit
consisted of three pieces; a skirt, a shirt, and a jacket. The
skirt and jacket were sewn from deep red wool. The jacket had wide
shoulders and was tailored to cinch in at the waistline. The lapels
were adorned with gold stitching. A neat row of big gold buttons
ran down the front. The skirt was just about knee length and would
flare if I spun. I owned matching suede leather, peep-toe heels as
well.

I had received permission from my science
teacher, the class I had before history, to leave ten minutes early
so I could change into my outfit. I’d styled my hair before I left
the house and hoped that it would hold up all day. When I looked in
the mirror I breathed a sigh of relief, it had made it through the
day just fine. Once I’d adjusted my make-up, my look was
complete.

I gazed in the mirror, amazed at the
transformation. This did not look like Emily Johnston, seventeen
year old high school student, living in Telluride. Someone else
entirely was staring back at me. She looked a bit older, more
sophisticated, well put together. I smiled at her and she smiled
back. We could do this. Get into that classroom, get through the
presentation, then class will be over, I told myself. I walked out
of the school restroom and made my way to History.

“
Hey, Emily, you look
great,” Rusty winked at me and Summer lightly punched him in the
arm.

“
Wow, that’s so cool. Is it
vintage?” Summer asked.

“
Yeah, it is pretty isn’t
it?” I twirled and let the skirt flair up around my
legs.

“
Your hair and make-up are
perfect too, you did some good research. All I did was wear a
left-over costume of my mom’s,” said Delilah.

“
Thanks guys,” I smiled as
I took my seat.

I was finally feeling confident. When my
turn came, I stood in front of the class and gave a brief but
precise rundown of the events that led to the attack on Pearl
Harbor and how the US then entered World War II. I answered every
question posed, by the students and Mrs. Beech, and even elaborated
on some of the details I was more familiar with. Everyone
complimented my attire and Mrs. Beech gave me her – job well done –
nod when I was finished. Yay! I got through it just fine.

As the bell rang to dismiss us from class I
took off my peep-toes and placed them back in their box. I slipped
on my sheepskin boots and put on my long winter coat. It was cold
outside and I had a bit of a walk, the boutique was on the opposite
end of Colorado. I said goodbye to everyone and walked out the
door. The second my feet hit the main road I saw him.

Link was waiting for me just off the school
grounds. He was motionless, watching me walk toward him, his stare
intense. Then I remembered the hair and make-up, it probably looked
out of place. My outfit was well hidden by the thick down quilted
coat. I smiled as I stepped in front of him.

“
I’m dressed to the nines
under here,” I said as I opened my coat for a quick flash of my
outfit and then securely closed it again. “You like my
hair?”

“
You look swell. Is that
Forties appropriate?”

“
Close enough. What do you
want to do? I need to change, but not until after you’ve had a
chance to appreciate this marvelous outfit with my coat off and my
kicks on,” I patted the box that held my shoes.

“
Would my apartment be too
weird? Or, we could just head over to the boutique,” Link said, his
gaze still locked on my face.

“
Your apartment would be
fine,” I answered.

We walked in silence, fingers intertwined,
the short distance to his apartment. I could hear the water from
the river trickling nearby as we walked up the steps to his door.
The inside of his apartment was sparse but functional. A black
leather couch was positioned against the far wall with a glass
coffee table centered in front. His flat screen TV, DVD player and
video gaming system were opposite the couch. Two small picture
frames rested on the TV cabinet. I picked up the first one. There
were three smiling faces posed by a snowy tree, a boy and two
adults. It was Link at around eight years old with, I assumed, his
parents. The second frame held a picture of Link at his High School
Graduation, his Grandma and Grandpa on either side of him.

“
Is this your last picture
of her?” I asked, remembering what he had told me about his
Grandma’s death.

“
Yes,” he
answered.

“
She looks so proud of you.
I can see it in her eyes. Your Grandpa looks just like you. You two
have the same mouth.” I was struck by the familiar again. “I swear
this is déjà vu,” I whispered.

“
Do you want a drink?” Link
asked from the kitchen.

“
Water would be great. I’ll
be back in a sec,” I smiled as I left the room. I went into his
bathroom and took off the warm coat. I changed my shoes and then
smoothed out my hair and fixed my make-up.

When I emerged from the bathroom Link was
sitting on his couch. I twirled for him, “You like?” I asked as I
came to a stop in front of him.

His expression turned quizzical again. He
sat frozen, thinking. He got up without saying a word, crossed the
room, and opened a door. I peeked inside, it was a storage closet.
He pulled out a box and bent over it.

“
What are you doing, Link?”
I asked, confused.

“
Just give me a second. I
just remembered something that has been bugging me since the day I
saw you at that dance,” he answered as he found what he was looking
for. He pulled a photo album out of the box and sat on the
couch.

“
What?”

“
Hold on, I’m looking,” he
said as he rapidly paged through the book, searching for a photo.
He paused, focused on a particular page and then looked up at me,
scanning me from head to toe. He looked back at the photo album,
and then back at me. “Oh my God,” he breathed.

I grabbed the album from his hands,
desperate to know what had disturbed him. There were two black and
white photos on the page. One was of a man and a woman standing in
front of a house. The other was of the same woman and a little boy
sitting on a porch swing. I sat down, still holding the book, and
traced my fingers along the edges of the photographs. They were
taken so long ago, but I remembered them.

“
Where did you get these,”
I murmured, my eyes stinging with tears that desperately wanted to
flow.

“
They belonged to Grandpa,”
Link answered.

“
That’s him isn’t it?” My
voice broke as I pointed to the little boy.

“
Yes,” he
whispered.

“
I guess I see the
similarities now, you look an awful lot like him. I wonder why it
never clicked up here,” I said knocking my head with my
hand.

“
That’s the same skirt, the
same jacket, the same shoes, the same hair... That’s you,” he
stumbled on the words.

“
I couldn’t get rid of it.
It was my favorite outfit. His favorite outfit too,” I sniffled,
tracing the first photo.

“
That’s Grandpa’s older
brother, he died in the war. Grandpa used to talk about him a lot,
especially after my parents died. He would bring out the photo
album and tell me stories,” he spoke rapidly, his voice cracking,
getting frantic.

“
That’s my Roger,” I wept,
the tears freely streamed down my face. “I should go now. I have to
warn them. We’ll have to leave right away. We’ll be found out now.
Please don’t tell anybody. That’s probably too much to ask...” I
sobbed. I wasn’t sure if he could even understand the words, as I
struggled to talk through my tears. I tried to get up from the
couch but Link held me in place.

“
Stay here, please,” he
pleaded with me. “I’m not going to tell anybody anything. I just
want answers. I couldn’t get your face out of my head, from the
moment I laid eyes on you. I kept racking my brain, trying to
figure out where I’d seen it before. I just would never have
imagined this.” He leaned back and started massaging his temples,
eyes closed.

“
No you wouldn’t have, you
couldn’t have. We count on it,” I said, my sobs now gone but the
tears continued to flow. I placed my hand on his leg. He flinched
and stood up, as if my touch had burned. “Sorry,” I murmured a weak
apology and moved my hand back to my lap.

“
What are you? A vampire?
No, I can’t imagine you killing and drinking blood, plus you are
walking around in the daylight. But you are awfully pale. Maybe a
witch, and you’ve cast some sort of a spell to keep yourself
young,” Link paced back and forth across the room. “How are you
doing this? Were you following me, toying with me?” he
questioned.

“
Slow down. I will answer
all of your questions, I promise. But you must understand, finding
out who you are is a great shock to me as well. I, I’m having a
hard time believing it,” I stammered. “I was drawn to you, after
seeing you for the first time as well. Every time you smiled it was
as though I’d seen that smile before. Now I know I had, on Roger.
You two have the same mouth, the same brilliant smile,” I
paused.