A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (14 page)

After trolling the streets of Montrose for
hours we stopped for a very late lunch at one of the local
diners.

“
Did you get something for
everyone on your list?” Link asked as we slid into a
booth.

“
I think so. It was a
pretty short list. I’m used to Christmas shopping for James and
Catherine, but I have never included mortal girlfriends. It seems
strange,” I admitted.

“
That is very sad you know.
You should have allowed yourself a friend or two over the
years.”

“
It all seemed so
pointless. We’ve always moved on, at a moment’s notice. The longest
we have ever stayed in one city is ten years.”

“
Ten years is a long time
to be someone’s friend,” he said.

“
But what is the point,” I
exhaled, “when eventually I’ll have to disappear. I cannot keep a
mortal friend forever. It doesn’t matter. I have Catherine and
James,” I finished.

“
You have me,” he said as
he reached across the table to hold my hand.

“
You’re right. For now, I
have you,” I agreed. “Your presence is a present to me. It was a
gift to find you.”

“
I feel the same way,” he
assured me.

“
We can be each other’s
Christmas present this year!” I suggested.

“
I like it,” he
smiled.

“
Can I take yer order?” a
red headed waitress with a sassy smile appeared. Pinned to her
white lapel was a name tag that read FLO. That had to be a
joke.

“
I’ll have the chicken pot
pie and a diet soda with lemon,” I answered. I tried to mirror her
smile.

“
I’ll have the same but
with an iced tea,” Link added.

“
Be back with yer drinks in
a moment,” she sang as she sashayed away.

“
FLO?” I mouthed to Link.
When she was out of earshot I let a giggle escape my
lips.

“
What?” he looked
completely lost. “From those commercials?”

“
No. Forget it, before your
time,” I muttered. I would always have to remember that I was with
a much younger man, a “boy” as Catherine had called him.

“
What?” he
insisted.

“
FLO, in a diner, TV
show...,” I prompted. “It even took place in Arizona,” I added, but
he was still clueless. “Forget it. It’s just something I used to
watch on television, a few years before you were born. When we get
back to my house, I’ll see if I can pull up some old clips of the
show on the internet,” I explained.

As I said the words I realized that I would
have to learn to get over the age difference and not let it bother
me so much. Catherine was older than James and it had never been an
issue for them.

“
I’ll hold you to that,” he
smiled my brilliant smile and I immediately brightened.

FLO brought our drinks a moment later, and
our food a few minutes after that. I immediately broke into the
flaky crust of the pot pie, letting the steam escape. Then I tore
off a piece from the edge and dunked it into the creamy gravy. I
popped it into my mouth.

“
Mmmm,” I sighed, savoring
the taste. “I love pot pie.”

“
That good huh?” he
chuckled.

“
Yes, try it,” I
urged.

I watched as he broke into his pot pie and
smiled as he took his first bite.

“
It’s good,” he mumbled
through a mouthful of food.

Within seconds we were both attending to the
serious task - of chowing down. Talking was kept to a minimum as I
took pleasure in the flavor and aroma of each bite. I let myself
flash back to family dinners at my grandparents’ house – my
grandmother teaching me how to roll out pie dough, my grandfather
proudly showing off his new radio. These were memories that I
usually kept filed away. It shocked me how much the various
shields, that I had spent years building up, were involuntarily
lowered when I was with Link.

I let my senses go into overdrive, not
wanting to reel them in. I let myself breathe in the countless
aromas that swirled around the air. My tongue was busy dissecting
the ingredients of the dish in front of me. My ears started to
pick-up conversations from all the surrounding booths. It was
overkill. I usually kept this kind of sensory overload at bay, but
today I set it free.

Link paused from his meal as he watched me
sit up a little straighter, close my eyes, and breathe in deeply.
“What are you doing?” he asked.

“
Taking it all in,” I
answered. “... all the fragrances, tastes, and sounds,” I
continued. “The women in the booth behind us are sharing a pot
roast and discussing little Johnny, who lost his first tooth
yesterday. The couple in the booth by the door, are having soup and
salad and arguing about the need for a new car. There is an old
woman somewhere in here that is sipping coffee and talking aloud to
no one, about the cost of dry goods these days,” I
paused.

“
You can pick-up all that?”
He questioned. His eyes grew wide with surprise.

“
I told you there was a lot
you didn’t know about me,” I shrugged.

“
What else?” he smiled.
“How about that couple near the counter,” he pointed at a young
blonde woman sitting right next to her boyfriend, I
presumed.

“
Okay give me a second,” I
said as I tried to pick their voices out of the tangle of sounds in
the air. “They are going ring shopping today. He proposed last
night, it was spur of the moment it seems, and today they are
making it official.”

We watched the couple as they bent their
heads toward each other and he held her left hand up in the air.
They sat that way, gazing at the imaginary ring, for a few
minutes.

“
Crazy,” Link awed. “What
about that man way in the back on the cell phone?”

“
What about him?” I asked
as I peeked over my shoulder at him.

“
Can you tell what he’s
talking about? Can you hear both ends of the
conversation?”

“
I can probably discern his
end of the conversation, but I’m not sure about the one on the
other end of the cell phone. I’ll try,” I said as I closed my eyes
again and tried to block out all of the other voices in the room
and began to concentrate on the guy in the way back.

“
I’m going to move on in a
few days,” I repeated his words. “No, I haven’t found any new
information yet,” he said. “Yes, I’ve asked at all the major
medical centers around here. Do you want me to visit every Doctor’s
office in town too? Colorado is a big state you know. I’m doing my
best,” he paused, listening. “I can’t hit every little town. You
are out of your mind this time Ezekiel. I’ll drive over to Grand
Junction from here. Why are you so sure they’ll be in Colorado?” he
finished.

“
Because I just am Levi, so
keep looking!” I heard a male voice scream through the cell phone
as the man in the back held it away from his ear.

I peeked over my shoulder again and saw Flo
placing a check down on the man’s table. I tried to memorize his
face without being too obvious. His head was bald, and he wore
small wire rimmed glasses. The eyes were a dark brown, almost
black. His lips were thin and drawn into a straight line. It was
obvious he was upset by the conversation, as was I. A shudder
rippled through my body.

“
What do you think that was
about?” Link wondered aloud.

“
I don’t know but it
worries me, Link. He’s searching through towns in Colorado looking
for ‘they,’ whoever they are, and he’s been asking questions at
medical centers,” I spoke in a quiet whisper, my hands gripping the
edge of the table.

“
That doesn’t mean he’s
looking for your family,” he tried to calm me.

“
Ya’ll need anything else?”
Flo popped into view.

“
Nope, I think we’re
finished,” Link smiled at her.

“
I’ll leave yer check
then,” she drawled as she placed the green and white paper on the
table.

“
Flo,” I
started.

“
Yeah honey,” she looked at
me.

“
That man walking out,” I
shifted my eyes, “the one with the bald head. He looks awful
familiar to me. You wouldn’t happen to know his name would
you?”

“
Oh that’s the rude one.
That’s what I’ve been calling him this whole last week. Been comin’
in here every day, about this same time. Talks loudly on the phone
from the moment he orders to the moment he leaves. I just heard him
say he’s moving on so hopefully this was my last day having to
serve him. My sister-in-law works over at the hospital and she came
in here for coffee and pie yesterday after her shift. Well, she
spotted him and said he was at the hospital asking questions about
all the doctors. Personal questions too. Gave her the creeps. Gives
me the creeps too,” she chatted on.

“
Did you ever catch his
name?” I pressed.

“
Leviticus Lord. Said so on
his credit card. That’s a name that’ll stick in yer head. I gotta
go, table three is waving at me,” she trailed off as she walked
away.

“
Leviticus Lord... Levi...
k-k-keep looking in Colorado...,” I stammered, eyes
wide.

“
Charity, breathe,” Link
ordered.

“
We need to go home, we
need to tell them,” I whispered.

“
From what you heard, he
didn’t seem to know anything. He doesn’t know where you are and
he’s clearly headed in the wrong direction. It’ll be alright. I’ll
get you home and then we can tell your aunt and uncle,” he said as
he stood.

Link left some money on the table and then
led me to my vehicle. I gave him the keys. I was too shaky to
drive. I knew I wouldn’t be concentrating enough on the road ahead
of me as much as the road I might be taking once James and
Catherine were given the news. The Lord brothers were near. Well at
least one of them was present.

chapter nine

JUST ACT NORMAL

“
Put your head between your
knees and breathe deeply,” Link ordered from the driver’s seat as
we turned onto Highway Five-Fifty, which led us out of Montrose and
home to Telluride.

I had just repeated the phrase, “It’s too
much too soon,” for the seventh time and I was beginning to
hyperventilate. My mind was racing in a hundred different
directions. In the last two days my secret had been discovered by
Lincoln Knight and now Leviticus and Ezekiel Lord were searching
for us. Levi was too close. How did he get so close so fast? We had
fled the Lord brothers just a few months ago and now Levi Lord was
in the same state, again.

“
Bad things come in
threes,” my voice strained as I spoke.

“
Just an old wives tale,”
Link tried to reassure me.

“
One – You figure me out.
Two – Levi Lord is in the same state as me. Three – They find us
and kill us,” I shrieked.

“
Okay perspective... One –
is not a bad thing, it’s a great thing. Two – Yes he’s in the same
state, but apparently has no idea where you might be. Three – We
will all make sure that
that
never happens.”

“
H-H-How can anyone make
sure?” I stammered, my head now bent down low as Link had ordered.
I could feel it beginning to help. My breaths were slowing
down.

“
Just, please try to stay
calm. We’ll get to your house soon and together we’ll all come up
with a plan,” he said.

His voice was calm, almost too calm. I
turned my head to the side to look at his face. There was worry
there, beneath the calm façade. He was trying to remain composed
for my sake. It was only fair that I do the same.

I sat up in the passenger seat. “Okay,” I
breathed, “I think I’m better now.”

“
Good, that’s good,” Link
sighed. “Thirty more minutes to home. Okay?”

“
Okay,” I
answered.

A half an hour later we were pulling into my
driveway. I reached up and pressed the remote to open the garage
door. My chest tightened as I was filled with both apprehension and
relief. James’s and Catherine’s vehicles were inside. They were
both home. A heavy sigh escaped my lips. I opened the door to the
house, determined to be strong, to not freak out, to be calm, for
all of our sakes.

I called out for Catherine and James as soon
as we were inside. Link remained, glued to me, letting me lean back
into his chest, giving me physical and emotional support. We
gathered in the kitchen and I recounted what had happened at the
diner, how I listened in on the conversations around us and
repeated them to Link. When I divulged the last conversation – the
one between Ezekiel and Leviticus Lord, their bodies froze, mouths
agape, fists clenched at their sides, eyes wide. I waited.

Catherine was the first to break the
silence. “You say he’s headed to Grand Junction. That is Northwest
of here right?” She looked around for confirmation.

“
I’m getting a map,” James
walked out into the garage, returning just seconds later. He spread
the map out on the kitchen counter.

“
That is what I heard him
say,” I told Catherine.

“
It’s about a hundred and
thirty miles from us,” Link gauged the distance.

“
That’s just a short drive
away,” I shivered.