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“Young
man, lean down here again,” she said easily, but I detected a hint of panic in
her voice. “Let me see those eyes of yours.” Ash grinned and complied, but I
noticed Helen’s jaw locking as she examined him. “Ah yes, very fascinating.
Popular with the ladies I’d imagine.” She shook her silvery head, and her thin,
bright red lips curled slightly upwards. “Lexi, you better get him out of here
quick. He’s too cute for his own good.”

“Ash,
you heard the lady. Out, out, out,” I said playfully but wondered at Helen’s
change in demeanor.

“All
right already. I’ll run down and bring the bike around front – give you ladies
a chance to say good-bye.” Gallantly taking Ellen’s wrinkled and sun-spotted
hand into his own, he held it up to his lips and kissed it gently. “Until next
time,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure. And please thank Marvin for letting me borrow
his acoustic guitar.”

“I
will,” she said and with a twinkle in her eye added, “I’ll make a special trip
down there and thank him personally. Maybe he’ll even invite me down to the
cafeteria for lunch.” We laughed, and Ellen and I both watched as Ash sauntered
out of the room.

I
walked over and knelt down beside her chair. Placing my hand on her arm, I
shook my head in bewilderment and rolled my eyes in the direction of the door.
Light streamed through the window highlighting her silvery hair. Being an
overcast October day, it would have been chilly next to the window if the
central air system right above her head wasn’t pumping out strong gusts of hot
air.

Giving
me a wide-eyed look, she said, “He’s quite the heartthrob isn’t he? Where did
you find him?” Before I could respond she gazed out the window and murmured,
“Fascinating and dangerous. I ought to know, I dated a few in my time.” She
transferred her gaze to me and placed her cold hand on mine. “You need to be
careful with that one my dear…”

Frowning,
I allowed a sputtering noise to escape from the back of my throat. “Now Ellen,
we’re just good friends.”

“Oh
that may be true for you, especially since you appear oblivious to his feelings
for you. But I’m not fooled. Oh no! I might have cataracts, but I’m not blind
yet, and I can see the boy is smitten with you. Does your young man with the
aqua-marine eyes know about Ash?”

“No,”
I replied hastily.

“Well
then you should introduce them,” she said. “I can assure you that nothing
brings a man around faster than a little good old fashioned jealously.”

Squeezing
her hand in return, I furrowed my brows. “No, we’re just good friends,” I
reiterated for my own benefit.

She
snorted. “We better get you fitted for glasses.”

“We’re
spending a lot of time together right now helping each other out; that’s all
really.” I sighed and gave her a hug but wondered just how deep things were
getting with Ash. Were his feelings for me really a lot stronger than that of a
friend? And how did I feel about him?

Her
expression turned serious, a faraway look appearing on her face. She stared out
the window for a good long time like she was contemplating what she wanted to
say next. In a quiet voice she said, “Yes, I can see that he needs you right
now. I can see it in his eyes. You’re a good girl Lexi. But please be careful.”
She pressed her lips together and gazed into my eyes. “If you ever need to
talk, no matter what the topic or how strange you think it might sound, I’m
here for you. I will listen, and I will not judge. I might even be able to
offer some advice.” My jaw dropped, and I sputtered, but she reached out and
held my hand. “Don’t worry, this isn’t the time, and your young man is waiting
for you.”

I
simply nodded. “Can I get you a book or something before I go?” I asked to
change the subject. Deep down, I was sorting through her words – trying to
determine if there was a hidden meaning. Could she possibly know about Essence,
or Ray-pacs for that matter? The way she’d gone all still after she’d looked
into his eyes.

“No,
no.” She tapped the glass pane. “I’m going to stare out the window for awhile
and reminisce about the Ash’s from my younger days,” she said dreamily.

I
patted her shoulder. “All right, I’ll visit again soon. Oh,” I whispered, “how
are you enjoying the True Blood DVD’s?”

“Are
you kidding,” she faltered and smiled up at me, “I’ve already watched all of
season one. As a matter of fact,” she lowered her voice, “I’ve watched it a
couple times since the last time you were here. Can you get the second season?”

“Sure,”
I laughed.

“And
Lexi-girl,” she paused and I nodded, “think about what I said.”

“I
will,” I promised. With a final hug, I left her alone by the window, but
couldn’t help wondering what more there was to learn about Mrs. Zimmerman.

An
hour later Ash and I were sitting side by side at Boomer’s drive-in drinking
milkshakes. Thick and sweet, my butterscotch shake was very rich. Intermittent
sun breaks had all but disappeared behind a bank of clouds that had rolled
across the sky. A fairly strong breeze was blowing loose leaves around outside.
The summer days had slipped away, and autumn had snuck in the back door.
Sitting in a couple of the seats which encircled the gas fireplace in the middle
of the restaurant, we were warm and cozy. The once busy outdoor picnic tables
sat empty and abandoned, but the old-fashioned drive-up parking spots were
packed.

“We’ll
have to bring my car next time, park outside, and let the waitresses bring our
meal out to us. I haven’t done that in ages,” I said, trying hard to sip the
thick shake through my straw. Finding my cheek muscles sore from the work out,
I puckered my lips and tried again.

“Yeah,
these old drive-up hamburger joints are virtually obsolete these days,” he
said, popping the lid off his shake and taking a drink from the edge of the
yellow cup. The aroma of greasy French fries drifted past and hamburger patties
sizzled on the grill in the kitchen behind us. The “whirr” of the milkshake
mixer droned on endlessly. Despite the chilly weather, Boomer’s shakes were in
high demand.

“I
enjoyed meeting Mrs. Zimmerman; she’s a riot,” Ash commented, swishing his
paper cup around in his hand before replacing the lid.

Laughing,
I pumped my straw, producing several squeaky sounds. “Yeah, she’s got more life
left in her than 20 other people her age put together.”

“You
never told me you could play the piano.” He looked at me curiously. “There’s
always something more to learn about you. And the more I learn, the more I
like.”

“Thanks.”
Flushing, I quickly averted my gaze and watched a dad cutting a hamburger into
small pieces for his young son. My thoughts jumped to the last time I’d played
the piano with Jason’s mother. I always enjoyed my duets with her. “I never used
to play for anyone but my family, but that’s changed lately,” I mused aloud.

“That’s
a good thing. Performing is a rush! Have you ever played the keyboards?”

I
could feel his gaze upon me. “No,” I said warily and looked into his green
eyes. “Do you think I could?”

“No
doubt in my mind. The action is a little hard to adjust to at first, because
you barely have to touch the keys, but since you’re already a master on the
piano, the keyboards would be a piece of cake. If anyone’s versatile, it’s
you,” he promised faithfully.

I set
my milkshake down on the table, because my hands were getting cold. Peering at
him, I said with surprise, “There’s a ton of gold hues scattered in your eyes
today. Why didn’t you tell me you needed an Essence boost?”

He
flinched. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to give you a break.”

I put
my hand on his shoulder. “Please don’t ever do that again. That’s why I’m here.
I always want to help you. I don’t want you fighting off urges to steal it from
others if you don’t need to,” I said.

“Fine,
and I hope you’re not implying I was taking it from Mrs. Zimmerman,” he said
with dismay, narrowing his eyes. “I wouldn’t have hugged her if I felt that
way; I hope you know that about me by now.” He sounded hurt.

I
squeezed his shoulder. “I do know that Ash. I trust you completely. I was just
surprised to find so many gold specks in your eyes. There seems to be a
definite correlation – the more gold the lower your Essence. I just want you to
tell me when you need me,” I said with sincerity.

“Okay.
But I always seem to need you.” Leaning forward, he rested one arm on the table
and placed his chin in the cup of his hand. He studied me hard with those
killer eyes of his. Suddenly, I was aware that out of habit my hand had slipped
onto his leg, and anyone observing us from afar would automatically assume we
were a couple. The weirdest part though, was that the gold specks had begun
disappearing rapidly since I’d been touching him. His face was only inches away
from mine, and I felt the heat seeping into my cheeks.

Quickly,
I asked, “Have you had any premonitions lately?”

“No,
actually I haven’t, which is probably a good thing.”

“Why?”
I asked, pulling my hair away from my face.

“Well,
with what I’ve gathered from Melanie’s random comments, I think when the
Ray-pacs choose to let their visions lead them to an accident scene,” here he
paused and shook his head, “rather than save the person, they wait until the
accident is over and then descend upon the injured person and steal their
Essence as they die. Or, if it looks like the victim might survive, the
Ray-pacs nudge death along.”

“Seriously?”
I asked incredulously.

“Yeah,”
Ash said, turning to stare into the orange flames of the fire. “And if an innocent
bystander steps in to help, the Ray-pacs just act like they were doing
everything possible to help the victim, when in actuality they were
facilitating the death while stealing Essence. Pretty sick.”

“They
are vicious monsters,” I said and shivered.

“I
know.” Worry lines creased his forehead. “Lexi?”

“Yeah?”

“Do
you feel that way about me?”

“Absolutely
not,” I said indignantly. I leaned my head against his shoulder and squeezed
his leg. “You are not like them Ash. Not at all. Don’t ever think that you
are.”

“I’m
relieved you feel that way, but I might be like them if I wasn’t without you.”
I felt his chest depress as he exhaled slowly. “I’m so glad we found each
other.” Afraid to comment, I remained silent. After a couple minutes passed, he
said, “How are the headaches lately?”

I
sighed. “Definitely more frequent. I get them after my snapshots quite often,
but ever since Jessica taught me how to focus and feel my way into the pain,
I’ve been able to wipe them away pretty easily.”

“That’s
good to hear. You mentioned you had a couple premonitions on campus—”

“Yes,”
I interrupted and trembled. “The worker on the ladder and a girl in the parking
lot. Luckily, everything went well and no one got hurt. That one day I tore out
of my speech class like a crazed animal to get to the guy on the ladder in
time, but later I had a hard time explaining my disruptive departure to the
professor.”

Ash
laughed. “I hadn’t thought about that angle. You better make sure you’re on top
of your studies in there if you expect to earn points back. Speaking of which,
I know we see each other every day, but we haven’t talked much about your
classes lately. How are they going?”

“Good
really,” I said and yawned. “I can’t believe it’s been almost a month already.
I’m enjoying the public speaking class the most, but I’m nervous because I have
to give a big speech next week.” Sighing, I picked up my milkshake again.
Chairs scraped the floor behind us as a large group got up to leave.

“Don’t
worry; you’ll kick butt,” he said with complete faith. “As long as you don’t
have any snapshots during your spiel,” he teased.

I
nudged him in the side with my elbow. “Thanks a lot.”

“Sorry.
What’s your speech about?”

I bit
the end of my straw. “Lucid dreams.”

“Which
are what exactly?” he prompted.

“That’s
when you’re dreaming,” I said, swirling the straw around in my cup, “but you
suddenly realize you’re dreaming, and rather than waking up, you’re able to
take control of the dream – take it anywhere you want it to go.”

“Hmm…”
He thought for a few seconds. “Sounds awesome. Can’t say I’ve ever had that
happen before. You have, I take it?”

“A
couple times,” I said, giggling as he started slurping loudly to get every last
drop of his strawberry shake. We discussed lucid dreams for quite awhile and
moved on to other topics. I did most of the talking, and he listened
attentively as I told him about my professors, about my experiences on campus,
and about the 5
^th
grade students I’d started observing at Carl
Cozier Elementary School as part of the requirement for my ed. class.

“Sounds
scary spending time in a 5
^th
grade classroom,” he commented.

“Oh
come on now, you’re willing to face the dangerous Ray-pacs head on, but the
idea of spending time with a few elementary kids has you shakin’ in your shoes?
I thought you were tougher than that.” I laughed.

His
head whipped side to side. “I think my Essence is dissipating at the mere
thought of all those kids. Quick, put your hands all over me. I’m in desperate
need of an energy boost.” He winked.“And you can put them anywhere and
everywhere you want.” He grinned wickedly.

Covering
my face, I croaked, “Some things never change. You’re still the same old Ash.”

“You’re
just lucky you have a protective barrier that burns me if I get too close,
because if you knew what I was really contemplating…”

“Enough,”
I said impatiently, my cheeks turning several shades of red. Steering the
conversation back to the kids, I said, “I still can’t believe you’re afraid of
a few 5
^th
graders. They’re still so impressionable, probably because
puberty hasn’t set in yet.”