Omniscient Leaps (25 page)

“Seriously, Luke,” Gage moaned. “Why would you get them all excited? It’s bad enough they’ve made me watch this movie several times. You really shouldn’t give them false hope.”

Luke was definitely confused now. “False hope? Are you saying these girls would actually date a vampire if one existed?” He turned to me with a grave expression.

I shrugged my shoulders as Reyna immediately spoke up. “Are you kidding, Luke? Of course we would. Hot, powerful and immortal. Who wouldn’t find that attractive?”

“Me,” Jenna said. “Personally I would rather enjoy a supernatural being who is more Godly.”

“Have you seen Edward?” Reyna scoffed. “You’re so idealistic.”

“I need a refill,” Gage said, heading off towards the concession stand. The rest of our group followed leaving Luke and me alone once again.

Luke seemed to know more than he was letting on. He seemed curious about my sudden burst of energy and I could barely contain my excitement as I turned to ask my questions. “So vampires actually exist? What other supernatural creatures are there?”

His face fell and I realized I had made the wrong assumption. “Kara, I have no idea if vampires really exist. It wouldn’t surprise me considering all the evil that resides in this world.” He paused and grabbed my hand. We began to walk slowly towards the gently sloping hill at the back of the drive-in lot. “But this idealistic view of the undead is unsettling. It doesn’t seem likely that an encounter with such a being would end well.”

We walked silently until we reached the crest of the grassy mound. I pulled him down on the sloping ground beside me so we could enjoy the view. “I know it’s fiction and I guess I just got a little caught up in the romanticism of the story. That’s the fun of fiction.” I laughed as he squeezed my palm. “It lets you escape reality even if it is just for a moment. Is that wrong?”

I turned to face him. Although I could barely make out his face, I knew he was considering my point of view. “It was a great love story,” he finally said. “An impossible and unlikely pairing.”

“Kind of like us,” I whispered as he turned his head to face me.

We kissed briefly just as a star streamed across the dark sparkling canopy overhead. I closed my eyes to savor the moment. “Just wait until you see the next movie on the schedule. It’s probably more along the lines of the historical romanticism you are used to.”

I waited for Luke to answer but the only sound ringing in my ears was the chirping of the nearby crickets. An immediate glimpse through half open eyes revealed a twinkling and fading Luke. He had obviously received an urgent notice from one of his leapers and was gone. Our night together had ended abruptly like so many others. I stopped to thank God for the time He had given us and I forced myself to my feet.

“Wow. I knew there was something special about that guy.” I stumbled backwards and nearly lost my balance. Gage grabbed my hand to steady me. “Is that what happens to you when you leap back in time?”

“Gage, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” I choked out. “Not exactly. I generally leave and return from the same point in time. Well except when I took a nighttime headache pill and got myself stuck in the past with your psychopathic father.” His eyes widened briefly. I bit my lip, wanting to kick myself for even bringing him up. “No offense.”

“I haven’t heard you talk about your gift since the day I admitted that I knew what you did. Is it taking its toll on you? Too much leaping?” Gage was genuinely concerned and surprisingly not at all hung up on the mention of his father. I decided to confide in him as we slowly headed back to where our friends were camped out. The second feature had already begun.

“No, it’s just that I haven’t leaped since I helped your family and I’m confused as to why,” I explained. “Luke’s in charge of so many leapers and I hate to burden him with all my questions and anxiety on the subject, so I just try to keep it to myself. I don’t like to waste the precious time we have together by piling on my angst.”

“You have a complicated relationship, you and Luke,” Gage said, shaking his head. “The girls have all these theories about you two, but now that I know the truth. It all makes perfect sense.” He punched my arm playfully. “So Luke is like your boss?”

Now there was a subject I didn’t want to get into. Was I really supposed to be sharing all of God’s confidential workings? Not that I really knew all that much myself. “So what about these theories?” I probed, trying to avoid any further inquiries. Gage’s eyes widened with fear. He’d obviously let something slip that he shouldn’t have. “Oh never mind. I really don’t want to know.”

Gage immediately appeared relieved. “It’s good to be mysterious.”

“Mysterious?” Jenna asked as we approached. “Where’s Luke?”

“Not in times like these,” I mumbled. Gage gave me a sympathetic nod.

“He spotted some old aviation buddies,” Gage explained. “They asked him to go for a ride down to the local diner and Kara let him go.”

“Seriously Kara,” Reyna said, rolling her eyes. “Why would you let him do that?”

“Well he hadn’t seen them in years,” I added.

“Years?” Reyna scoffed. “How old is Luke anyway?”

“You don’t want to know,” I smirked. I glanced over to Gage and he winked.

Although he didn’t know the particulars, it was nice that he had my back. We watched the second and part of the third movie before finally giving into our fatigue and heading home. Two thirds of the parking lot had already cleared out as we left. The few stranglers still in attendance, as Reyna put it, had their own agendas that didn’t involve watching the movies.

The rest of the summer seemed to pass in a blink and it was finally packing day. I didn’t even know where to start. How could I, an unorganized individual, pack everything I’d need into two small trunks? When I thought about sharing a room with someone I cringed. Unless she was a slob too she’d be fed up with me in a week.

“Ugg!” I groaned, flopping onto my bed. I felt hopeless.

“You have to learn how to be organized at some point,” my mom whispered from the doorway. She was standing with a bagful of supplies and I could only imagine what she thought of the heap of possessions piled in the middle of my floor.

“I don’t have that subset of skills in my vocabulary, Mom,” I whined. “You expect me to magically acquire it?”

Being a teacher made my mom automatically organized, at least I thought so. “No, but I have some tools for you.”

She inverted her large plastic bag and several fabric cubes fell to the floor along with some Space Bags. “Now this is just a start,” she began, her chestnut eyes sparkling more than normal.  “I have all kinds of plans once we get you to—”

“There’s something different about you, Mom,” I interrupted. Her hair was its usual ruby shade, but it was also straight and shiny. She always had it pulled back for work. “Oh my gosh! You have a date, don’t you?”

She immediately blushed. Considering she hadn’t dated anyone since my Dad died when I was three, this was huge. “It’s no big deal.”

I stopped to survey her stylish attire. “This is SO a big deal, Mom.” I leaped up to hug her. “How did this happen?”

“Well… he’s been coming into the restaurant forever. He knows I work two jobs and always leaves me big tips.” She began folding my mountain of laundry as she talked. “I guess I finally appeared interested and he made his move.” She was practically glowing as she spoke.

“Stay out as late as you want because I can always drive in the morning,” I added. “You deserve to have some fun.” I paused. “Wow. I can’t believe I’m going to miss out on your blossoming relationship. You’ll have to call and tell me everything.”

She squeezed me tight. Then she stopped to gawk. “That’s my line…I can’t believe this day has finally come. What am I going to do without you?”

“Have a life,” I teased. The doorbell rang and we both reacted spastically.

Mom checked her watch and sighed. “He’s early. I really wanted to help you. We both know you need it.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed her towards the door. She gave me one last tearful energized hug and departed. My feet were heavy as I lugged myself back to my disaster of a room. Packing was going to take all night.

As I filled the fabric cubes with clothes and necessities I found myself wondering what I was going to do without my mom.  She had always been my rock and now she would be five hours away. College would be an adventure, yet letting go of everything that had given me strength over the years, Mom, would be tough.

The questions flooded in relentlessly while I continued to fill my trunks. Most of them were easily answered or dismissed. The ones that persisted were the most worrisome. Had God forgotten about me? Was I no longer a leaper and if not what did that mean for my relationship with Luke? I drifted off to sleep no closer to the answers than I’d been when I’d first thought of them weeks ago.

When my serene lake appeared blanketed by nightfall, I knew I’d dozed into a deep sleep. For as long as I could remember it had been the one place I could go to rejuvenate my soul and forget my troubles. Now it offered me an additional bonus, Luke. Even when he hadn’t appeared to me in real time, I could almost always count on a visit from him in the dream realm.

I made my way down to the dock where he was sitting with his feet dangling over the edge so his toes brushed the glassy surface. Even though I didn’t make a sound, he knew I was there. It was impossible to sneak up on him.

“So tomorrow’s the big day,” he murmured.

An unexpected sigh escaped as I dropped down beside him. “I thought I’d be so excited. I’ve been looking forward to this phase of my life forever. Why am I so apprehensive?” He wrapped his arm around me while I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s not like I have to leave you. That’s one of the benefits to our relationship. And even though I suddenly have this great group of friends, I truly despised high school. I should want to move away and start a new chapter in life. Then again, I can’t imagine the points being a first class slob are going to win me—especially with my roommate.” I had a full scholarship, a supportive Mom and an angelic boyfriend. Why did I suddenly sound like a whiny ungrateful teenager?

Luke shifted sideways to face me. He kept silent while his sincere expression made me briefly shift gears to ponder his natural disposition. Always humble, yet I’d never seen him anything but confident. He was solid in his beliefs, in his faith and in himself. Having over a hundred years to perfect such a state didn’t hurt, but something told me he’d been this way since his first encounter with God.

“You’re smirking,” he finally said after an extended silent contemplation on both our parts. “You must be rethinking your hesitation.”

“Not exactly. I got sidetracked thinking about how easy you make things appear. You’ve basically been alone for decades and you never complain, never seem lonely and are just thankful to be alive. Some of your optimism should’ve rubbed off on me by now. What’s wrong with me?”

Luke’s burst of laughter was startling and I had to grab the edge of the dock to maintain my balance. “I’m far from the idealistic image you make of me at times. To start with, I don’t technically own anything so how do you know I’m not capable of accumulating clutter?” I arched an eyebrow and he frowned. Just thinking of his perfectly kept desk and bookshelf made the idea seem rather impossible. “And fronting an affirmative outlook on life is part of my job description.”

“Luke,” I moaned, doubting every bit of his argument.

“Honestly Kara,” he continued with resolve. “I have doubts. However fleeting they are they
do
exist. That’s what makes us human and leaves us room to grow. You’re young and deserve to experience and explore your uncertainties. When I initially left my place in your world I was petrified. I didn’t know what to expect or what I’d do if I thought I’d made the wrong decision.”

“How’d you get over it then?”

“With a leap of faith, something that’s much easier when God is part of the equation.”

I shuffled my feet uneasy and stared at the reflections staring back at me in the water. “He’s definitely a critical asset in my life now but—” I laid back on the cold wooden planks and took a deep breath.

“It’s going to happen soon,” Luke whispered. The boards creaked beside me and I felt him take my hand. With his one simple gesture, tranquility slowly settled in and I finally relaxed.  “Your head is going to be spinning with all kinds of new stimuli in just a few hours and you’re not going to have time to give this another thought. I promise.”

His loud exhale made me curious so I opened my eyes. He was staring at me like he hadn’t seen me in months or wasn’t going to see me. My stomach abruptly churned and I wondered what he wasn’t telling me. I’d just started feeling better and now I had a thousand scenarios racing through my mind.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I said, propping my head up on the wooden plank of the dock. Luke immediately stood up and started pacing.
Not a good sign.

“You seem to think my confidence is impenetrable, but I assure you it is not,” he admitted. “I have several insecurities regarding your departure. You’d think at my age I’d have it figured out, but when it comes to you my security matches my youthful appearance. I’ve never been in love before, Kara.”

He was right about one thing. To anyone else he resembled an attractive teen with his bright blue eyes, golden hair and striking facial features. Although I saw flashes of wisdom in many of his expressions, no one else was the wiser. His remarks had already set my heart aflutter and I was feeling slightly elated.

“The males at your school are going to be smitten with you and I’m sure you will have some reciprocal curiosity,” he continued. He avoided meeting my eyes. “I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Our relationship is out of our control and there’s no telling how long it will last. I’m just not sure I’ll know how to adjust to life without you after the fact.”

His confession was astonishing. Besides the unavoidable fate of Luke one day leaving his post as my shepherd, I hadn’t given another thought to college males. No curfews or parental figures, throw in a party serving cocktails, and I doubt I’d find a male wanting to commit to a monogamous relationship.  Even the most mature male on campus couldn’t compare to Luke.