Back to Yesterday (6 page)

“I’
m happy to amuse you,” I said, using one crutch to spread out the corners. “You could help me you know.”

“Nah, this is more fun.”

Out of the corner of my eye, something yellow caught my attention, and I thought I saw Sophie standing at the entrance to the park. When I looked again she wasn’t there. “Where do you want me to put this stuff?” Tank asked. He was my best friend’s brother and I sort of thought of him as my brother too. He was older by two years and was currently serving his third year in the Army. He wasn’t in the Air Corp like I was, though. He was a soldier, and a damned good one. He would be going back to the front lines soon, and I hated it for his mom. She had already lost one son. Surely God wouldn’t see fit to take another. That’s what I told myself anyway.

“Right here is fine,” I said, pointing to a spot on the now smoothed out blanket. “Thanks for carrying the food. I guess I didn’t think this through all the way when I suggested a picnic.”

“What…like how you were going to walk on crutches and carry a picnic basket at the same time?”

“Blow it out your barracks bag,” I mumbled.

Unfazed, he said, “I gotta meet the dame who’s got you jumping through hoops to impress her.”

“I hope you’re already gone by the time she gets here,” I said. “I want her to like me. You’ll make her run the other way.”

“Oh please. Women love me.”

I looked around at the nearly empty park. “Oh yeah, they’re lining up.”

“Funny…I don’t see
your
woman yet.”

“She’ll be here.” I sat down, stretching my casted leg out in front of me, needing to rest a bit.

Tank sat down beside me. “What’s so special about this girl?”

The corners of my lips curved up. I couldn’t help it. It was the most natural thing in the world to do when I thought about Sophie. “She’s different,” I said.

“Different how?”

“I don’t know. She’s…”

“She’s what?” a soft voice asked behind us.

Tank and I both turned around, and there she was, holding a pie. Her cream colored dress was simple in style, tubular and slim, with a yellow belt cinched at the waist, and matching cream colored gloves. Her hair was in some sort of up-do with neat little curls on top, complete with a yellow ribbon tied into a bow. Her red, red lips whispered a smile. She was radiant.

Stepping forward she said, “Were you talking about me?”

The yellow bow told me that I had been right. She had been standing at the entrance. She must have been watching me the whole time while I struggled to set everything up. Always thinking she was being sneaky.

Feeling playful I said, “Not yet. I was about to, though. You interrupted before I could answer.”

Tank approached her with a smile, holding out his hand. “I’m Tank Cassidy, Ma’am. Pleased to meet you.”

“Sorry,” Sophie said apologetically, lifting the pie with both hands. “My hands are full.” She said with a grin, like it should have been obvious.

Tank shifted on his feet while looking down, embarrassed. “Right. Well, I should be going. You two have a picnic to get to so…”

“Don’t run off,” Sophie said. “Please, finish your conversation.” She looked at me, amused I think. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Perhaps she thought she would embarrass me, so I wanted to play along. “Okay, have a seat.” I reached for the pie and placed it beside the basket. “For the next few minutes we’ll pretend you’re not here.”

“We will?” Tank asked.

“Absolutely. You heard the lady. She wants us to continue our conversation. So, ask me your question again.”

Tank cleared his throat, hesitating before saying, “I, uh, asked you what was so special about her.”

“Ah, that’s right.” I snapped my fingers. “Excellent question. Now, let’s see.” I pretended to really put some thought into my answer, drawing it out as long as possible, until I…drew a blank. For real, not pretend. And not because I couldn’t think of anything special about her, but because I realized I didn’t want her to know how special I thought she was. Not yet.

The seconds ticked into minutes. No one said a word. It had gone so differently in my head. I was supposed to say something witty and charming, and with any luck, Sophie was supposed to blush or whatever girls do when guys say nice things about them, and I was going to be one step closer to winning her over. That wasn’t what happened at all. I had embarrassed her. I know because when I forced myself to look up at her, she had lost the sparkle she had when she’d first arrived. Her eyes were downcast. I had hurt her feelings.

She began nodding like she was giving herself a pep talk or memorizing a speech. “It’s okay. I know I’m not that special.” She tried to offer up a laugh, play it off like it was no big deal. “Tank, I hope you like apple pie,” she said. “I would like for you to stay and have some.” Her eyes drifted to mine, then quickly looked away and began scooping out the precut slices. “Charles, would you like a piece?”

It didn’t go unnoticed that she had called me Charles instead of Charlie.

“Sophie,” I pleaded.

“Hmm?” she asked, placing a slice of pie on a napkin and handing it to Tank. She was avoiding eye contact and I couldn’t blame her.

I wanted to explain, to tell her that, since meeting her, my heart was in jeopardy of ruin, and she could be the one to ruin me. I wanted to tell her that when she plowed into me that day in the diner that she had leveled me in more ways than one. I wanted to tell her all of that, yet I couldn’t tell her any of it. I needed more time to ease her into it. So I said nothing and answered unenthusiastically, “Apple pie would be great.”

We ate our pie like you would eat pizza because I hadn’t remembered forks. If it hadn’t been for the loud silence hanging in the air between us, it would have been fun. Comical, even.

Eventually, Tank stood and offered his hand again to Sophie. This time she accepted his handshake and politely smiled.

“It was nice meeting you,” Tank said.

“Likewise.”

I could see that Tank was relieved to be leaving. I had made everyone uncomfortable, even myself. You would think that a date going this terribly wrong couldn’t get any worse. Not so. It got exceptionally worse because I had gotten stung by a bee – on my ass of all places.

Turns out, I was allergic to bees.

I awoke with a lump in my throat, a pain in my chest, and brown eyes staring down at me. I didn’t want brown eyes staring at me. I wanted blue ones. I needed the ocean. I must have said as much because the brown eyes blinked with confusion.

“What are you talking about?” The brown eyes were now attached to a face and that face belonged to Tank.

Why was I looking at Tank?

“The ocean,” I mumbled. My tongue was thick and forming words seemed like an incredible feat. I had to try though because the pain in my chest was heavy. All I remembered was that I had hurt Sophie’s feelings. This was what guilt felt like and the only way to fix it was to form the words I should have said when I had the opportunity. “I n-need the ocean.”

“I don’t know what the doctor gave you, man, but you’re not making any sense.”

“L-listen to me. I need to answer your question.” The words were becoming easier to form. “Sophie…when she looks at me, her eyes pull me under, makes me feel like I’m lost at sea. I’m disoriented.”

“No fooling,” Tank said. “You’re definitely disoriented.”

I heard soft laughter all around me. I ignored it. “Roll up your flap and listen.” I needed to get the words out. My head was foggy and I still wasn’t sure why Tank was there when I knew I saw him leave. I didn’t care why he was there. I couldn’t mess this up again.

“When she smiles, I feel like I can fly. I can’t fly because I busted up my leg and all I want to do is fly again.” The soft laughter died down and I knew I finally had his attention. “So when she smiles at me, Tank, she makes me fly.” I swallowed, wishing I could have a do-over. “That’s why she’s special…why she’s different.”

I couldn’t keep my eyes open. “She makes me fly,” I mumbled.

“Okay, buddy. I’m glad you told me. Get some rest now.”

Tank’s face was fading in and out. I was struggling to stay awake. And then I saw her. Blue irises were looking right at me. She was still wearing her yellow bow. She was wearing something else too. A smile. I smiled back.

“Sophie.”

“Shhh. Get some rest, Charlie. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Why is Tank here? I thought he left.”

“You got stung by a bee. Don’t you remember? You started acting weird. I knew something was wrong so I went after him and he drove us to the hospital. The doctor gave you a shot and said you’d be fine.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Everything is okay.”

I shook my head. “No, I need another chance. Another date. Please.” I heard more soft laughter. “Who’s laughing?”

“Well, there may be a few nurses who find you funny.”

“I’m not trying to be funny.”

“I know. Just rest.”

“Sophie?”

“Yes, Charlie?”

“One more chance?” I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer. I was fading away.

“Charlie, can you hear me?”

“Hmm?”

“I said, okay. We can have another date.”

“With witnesses?” I murmured.

Another soft laugh. “No…no witnesses this time. Just you and me.”