See How She Runs (3 page)

“Nah, Mike told him to shove it in a
professional way. He said that I would be the first notified to
deliver if I were available, but if I wasn’t then someone else
would come. I don’t know, maybe I am crazy, but there was this
weird connection with him. It was like exciting, but at the same
time super scary. I don’t really want to go back to his office if I
can help it. But, I pedal my happy little tush wherever Mike sends
me.”

“That is weird. Let me know what happens
next time you get to meet mister mysterious. I am curious how he
will treat you when he sees you again. Maybe he was just having a
bad day losing thousands of someone else’s dollars. Hey, instead of
veg’ing tomorrow, you wanna go to the Field?”

This was one of the many reasons why he was
my favorite person, and dearest of dear friends. I loved the Field
Museum more than any other place in the world. I forked over the
money each year to be a member so that I could go any time I
wanted. There was something amazing about being surrounded by so
many years of history. My favorite of exhibit, hands down, was the
Pacific Northwest Native American exhibit. It was always really
quiet back there. With the lights being motion sensor activated, it
tended to be a bit creepy as well.

I decided to call it a night. I looked
across the bar to find Kennan buried deep in thought. Kennan was
never a serious person, so I had no idea what could possibly have
him rattled. Curiosity got the best of me, like always, and I
forced myself to ask him what the deal is.

“Hey, what’s on your mind Kennan? You look
like someone just told you Santa isn’t real. Or perhaps, that you
are not in fact the world’s best bartender.” I said with an air of
seriousness, as he was pulled back from his thoughts.

“What, ah nah, it’s nothing. I was just
thinking about having to do inventory before I make it home
tonight. Don’t wait up!” He shot me one of his electrically
contagious smiles, covering the concern that had been there moments
before.

Still not convinced, I decided to make my
exit. Hey, if the man did not want to cough up the information, who
was I to pry? At any rate, it was way passed my bedtime and I was
ready for a snooze. I stood up and got my stuff together as Kennan
made his way around the bar. He leaned over and kissed me on top of
my head, for the second time that night.

“See you at home kid, be careful on the way.
Remember: Mace first, ask questions later! Oh, and don’t wake me up
before eleven tomorrow or I might just have to murder you." He
smirked down at me with his giant arm still draped over my
shoulder. He really did make me feel like a teacup version of a
normal person.

“Yeah, yeah. You never let me have any fun
Kennan. See you in the morning.” I winked at him as I stepped out
from underneath his man-cage. I headed for the door and waved at
Marky sending my congratulations once more.

I made it home without having to mace
anyone. Such a boring night. I got to the top of the steps and
unlocked the door. As soon as I got inside, I heard our answering
machine click off. I realized I had left my cell phone at home. I
got inside and locked the door behind me. I headed toward the
kitchen where our land line was. I pressed the button and waited
for the machine to get through its spiel. I waited for it to say
how many messages, just the one, the time it came in 12:30, and
then it finally allowed me to hear the message. That’s when
Kennan’s voice came anxiously blaring out of the machine.

“Hey, Iz, it’s me, pick up if you are home.
You should be home by now, why aren’t you picking up. Where is your
cell? You did not answer there either. Seriously, if you don’t pick
up the phone in the next five seconds I am coming home to make sure
you weren’t murdered somewhere along the way. Seriously Izzy, five,
four, three, two, I am coming home. See you in a few, if you are
alive.”

I was confused. Kennan never made sure I got
home, nor did he normally sound so freaked out. I stood there
dumbfounded as the front door burst open. I mean, I knew we only
lived a couple of blocks down from the pub, but it should seriously
have taken longer than that to get from point A, the pub, to point
B, the house. I swirled around not knowing what to expect, only to
have Kennan engulf me in a bear hug like he hadn’t just seen me
twenty minutes ago. I pushed him away with a look of utter
astonishment.

“What the hell Kennan? Sure I took my sweet
time walking home tonight, but that’s because the weather is
amazing. Why are you so freaked out all of a sudden? Did someone
call the bar with an anonymous tip about my invisible stalker? You
are seriously starting to freak me out here, guy!” I looked at him
expecting a logical explanation for his bizarre behavior.

“It’s a joke, Iz. I called you from my cell
when I was a block behind you. Marky offered to close tonight and
do inventory since we were so dead." He smirked at me.

There was something off, though. I could
have sworn the number on the caller I.D. was from the bar. Then
there was the fact that Kennan did not look the same way he did
when playing pranks on me. Like earlier tonight with Marky, he had
that glint in his eye that said I totally got you. Now, he just
looks frazzled. Too tired to deal with it, I decided to just give
up and go to bed.

“Whatever you say K.O. I am safe and sound
at home, and I am going to bed. I will see you in the morning for
the Field. Unless you decide to be a total whakadoo tomorrow as
well!”

“Alright, see you then. Remember, you wake
me before eleven and you do it at your own peril."

**********

I made it up to my room and stripped down to
just my tunic and undies. I opened the door and checked the hall
before dashing to the bathroom to wash my face. One thing I always
checked before heading to the bathroom was that Kennan was not
around. The last thing I needed was for him to see me in my undies.
I washed my face slowly getting the bar grime off and headed back
to my room.

After falling into my bed I started thinking
about all the weird stuff that had transpired today. The weirdo guy
Xavier, Kennan’s reaction to my telling him, his freak out over my
not answering the phone at home tonight. I felt like I was staring
at one of those magic eye posters that were so popular in the 90's.
For the life of me I could not see the hidden picture. It was like
trying to think of a word and it hanging just out of reach.
Frustrated and confused, I eventually fell asleep.

**********

I am dreaming I know I am, but somehow it
does not feel that way
.
“Iz, run as fast as you can!” I hear
my mother yell in a panicked voice. “Iz, you have no idea what you
are, please just run, hide before it is too late! You have to get
away from him. I am so sorry, baby. Please just run. You can’t let
him take you."

**********

FOUR

I woke up drenched in a cold sweat. I kept
having dreams where she yelled at me. They started around the time
Grams died, with her appearing and telling me to be careful. This
one was the first one where she seemed panicked. I brushed it off
like every time before. I stretched slowly and looked over at the
clock to see what time it was. It was only 7:30. Why in the world
was I up this early on my day off? Even stranger, why did I smell
bacon and cinnamon rolls? I got up and wrapped my fluffy robe
around me before trudging down to the kitchen. Once there, I was
met with something even more bizarre than all the events of the
previous day combined.

Kennan was up, freshly showered, and dressed
already. Not only that, he was cooking breakfast on his day off. I
was now convinced the universe had somehow gotten thrown off
kilter. I walked in and stared at him, not even knowing what to
say. I was utterly speechless for the first time in years. To say
Kennan was not a morning person would be like saying the Pope just
liked Jesus a little bit. It usually took three very loud alarm
clocks to wake him.

He turned from the stove and raked his eyes
down me, taking in my disheveled appearance. He smiled and said,
“You want some breakfast?" That’s it. No hint as to why he was up
at what he considered the butt crack of stupid.

“What’s up with you Iz? Are you
sleepwalking? I asked if you wanted breakfast." He looked at me
expectantly.

“Um, yeah, breakfast would be nice. What in
the world are you doing up this early? I am like one hundred and
fifty percent positive you told me not to wake you up before eleven
today."

I made my way to the table and plopped down
in front of my plate. There was already a glorious cup of coffee
waiting on me. It was starting to feel as if I stepped into the
Twilight Zone yesterday.

“I woke up early. It isn’t like the world is
coming to an end. I was starving and I thought I would make enough
for you, too. You know, so you wouldn’t eat everything I had cooked
for myself."

He still had the playful glint in his eyes,
but there was also something else lurking there. The same thing
buried behind the façade that I had caught glimpses of yesterday.
There was a tension building but to what end I was not sure.

I was entirely too tired to think about his
weirdness. Instead, I started scarfing down my food. Did I mention
that I might starve if it weren’t for Kennan? No, really. If he
worked doubles or was gone for whatever reason, I forgot to eat. It
happened all of the time. My mind tended to get so caught up with a
million different things that I forgot to eat. I devoured
everything on my plate and realized that in my haste to outperform
any vacuum on the market, Kennan was staring at me.

I blushed. Honest to God felt the blood rise
in my face blush. I did not know what the deal was. I was never
embarrassed in front of Kennan. He had seen me look pretty rough in
the past two years. Maybe it was just a side effect of all the
other weirdness that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Or
perhaps it was those strange looks he had been giving me
lately.

“So…..what time did you want to go to the
museum today?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Well, it is a gorgeous day, so I thought we
would be tourists in our own town and do it up right.”

“What do you have in mind, oh master planner
of the day?"

“Well, I figure we could go down to
Millennium Park and walk around for a while, see if the weird face
fountains are still spitting water on people. Then maybe we could
head over to the museum campus. We might have time for the aquarium
and the Field today.”

“You have a deal, if we can go to the zoo
instead of the aquarium. I want to see the penguins.” At least they
wouldn’t be acting as weird as everyone else in my life. Well, I
hoped not. If I got there and they are wearing tiny top hats and
monocles, the jig was seriously up.

“Sounds like a plan, man! I will get this
mess cleaned up, unless you feel like licking the plates clean. I
mean, I think I might see a couple of crumbs left on your plate.” I
threw my wadded up paper towel at him and got up.

**********

FIVE

I quickly showered and got dressed after
checking the weather. Indian summer was usually warm, but there was
the occasional chilly day that could sneak up out of nowhere. Today
looked to be one of those days. I headed over to my pitiful
clothing collection and decided to just throw on my jeans from the
previous night, a t-shirt that said something about love, and my
green granny sweater. At least that was what Kennan called it. I
loved it, it was soft and had big buttons. It even had elbow
patches. I decided to toss a little makeup on today since I planned
on taking pictures. I know, vanity is unattractive, but so was my
pale skin when it reflected a camera flash. After spending close to
an hour getting ready, I got downstairs to find Kennan waiting on
me.

He was dressed in some khaki cargo shorts, a
t-shirt and flip flops. I didn’t bother explaining the temperature
to him. Even in the winter he did not wear weather appropriate
clothing. I pulled on my brown leather knee boots and grabbed my
bag.

“Not one word about the sweater. Yesterday
was full of weird so I am bringing my security blanket with me
today. You ready?” I asked as I made for the door.

“What was so weird about yesterday? Speaking
of weird, you still having that dream about your mom? I thought I
heard you yell last night," Kennan asked, trying to hide something
behind his eyes.

“Nothing and no, I am not still having the
dream," I lied. “I just want to be comfy today and we all know how
much I love this sweater."

I didn’t want him to know about the dream. I
had told him about it the first few times it happened because it
really freaked me out. That and I would wake up screaming. He had a
tendency to rush into my room to make sure I wasn’t being mauled by
an intruder. I had gotten the whole screaming thing under control,
for the most part. But there seemed to be something about the
dreams that I couldn’t quite figure out. I didn’t want to share
them with him or anyone for that matter.

***********

We made our way over to the zoo pretty
quickly. Since it was a weekday there were several field trips
going on. I loved watching little kids at the zoo almost as much as
watching the animals themselves. Their shear excitement over
something wild being right at their fingertips was contagious. Then
again, part of me was always sad about the animals never really
knowing what it was to be free. We headed in and immediately made
our way to my favorite display, the penguins, which luckily were
not sporting monocles or top hats.