Soulshine (18 page)

As Evan and Kim left the Providence casually asked, “So… what did you think of it?”
“Very nice,” said Evan. “It was quite matinee.”
“Is the theatersimilar to the places that you acted in?”
“On a somewhat smaller scale than most of the theaters I"ve worked. But actually, I have worked in some smaller ones even in New York and London.”
“I can"t believe that you have that much experience. I mean… you look about as old as me and I"m just a college sophomore.” This statement pleased Evan since he wanted to return to his age of perpetuity. It felt good to remove the gray Theater, Kim

an enjoyable from his temples and return to his natural appearance.
But I think it wise to not mention all of my theatrical experience,
he thought.

“Do you want to know what I enjoyed the most in the whole performance?” asked Evan.
“What?”
“I was watching others put on a façade. Part of acting is making yourself believe that you are the character you are portraying. Sometimes it tends to bleed into one"s personal life. Sitting in that theater made me realize that acting is one of the last things I wish to do at this time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Kim. You actually helped me by taking me here. It was an enjoyable afternoon. I think I shall probably return here often… as a patron, that is, if I decide to stay in the area.”
“Would you like to come home to meet my family, Evan?”
Evan thought for a moment. “No, thank you, Kim. If you don"t mind, I"d like to see more of the area on my own. I may have eliminated play acting for the foreseeable future, but I still need to clear my head and just find my way. Perhaps we will meet again.”
Kim looked disappointed. She had an innocent fascination with Evan, as most people did once they engaged in conversation with him. “I hope so, Evan. I… enjoyed listening to you. I"d love to see you act.”
Evan laughed. “I"m afraid the main problem in my life is that most people see the man but don"t realize the actor behind the actions.”
“I don"t get what you"re saying.”
“Kim, you are probably the first person who has seen the real me in quite some time. What I"m trying to say is that through the stage I became an actor. As Shakespeare wrote…
all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
Now I don"t particularly believe that all people live out their lives as if in a play, but I can say for certain that I did. It"s time to be real. This is the real me.”
“I guess I never knew the… fake you?”
“All the better for you.”
“So where are you from originally?”
Evan smiled gently.
Okay… so I still need to be somewhat evasive and I still may need to downright lie at times… but at least I’m rid of that accursed makeup.
“Originally? Greece. The… family moved around a lot.”
Kim smiled. “Are you sure you can"t visit with us while you"re being real?”
“I really do appreciate the offer, but I"d like to just relax by myself in a hotel for the night and get a fresh start in the morning catching the sights in and around Providence.”
“Can I give you my phone number? You can call me if you want to see another play or something.”
“Sure, Kim.”
Kim wrote down the number and handed it to Evan, who slipped it into his trouser pocket. They said their goodbyes. As they parted, Kim thought about Evan, while Evan thought about his latest fresh start and the possibilities that awaited him.

Auntie Blue felt as though she were walking on egg shells as she tried to make conversation with Michelle. Michelle was obviously distraught and with good reason. Auntie Blue wanted to console her with a hug but was careful not to give Michelle the impression that she was treating her like a child. It was hard enough sensing that Michelle seemed suspicious of her the day before when she wanted to visit with Evan.

The descent in the elevator was awkward, as neither said anything. Michelle felt like she was about to cry, but she managed to appear stoic. As they reached the ground floor, Auntie Blue said, “Just down the hall to the right and we will be there soon, Michelle.”

Michelle felt a little more comfortable upon hearing Auntie Blue address her by her name, but she couldn"t find any words to say. The events of the day were overwhelming her. She just kept up with Auntie Blue without realizing the progression of her steps, as though she were walking in a dream or a trance.

“Michelle? How are you doing, swee…” Auntie Blue stopped herself short before calling her „sweetheart", a name Michelle mighttake to be condescending. “How are you doing? We"re here.”

Michelle snapped out of her dreamlike state. “Can I get in the back of the ambulance with him?”
“I"m sorry. Paramedics will be stabilizing him. You can ride up front with the driver though. That way you will be right there when he is removed from the ambulance upon arrival at your destination.”
Michelle tried to be somewhat comforted, but it weighed heavily on her not to be by Evan"s side. “Okay,” she uttered apprehensively.
“Right this way,” said Auntie Blue as she escorted Michelle into the vehicle via the passenger side door. “There you go.” Then she looked at the driver, gave a remorseful sigh, and silently expressed her reservations to him.
As Auntie Blue closed the ambulance door, the driver looked at Michelle. “Have you ever ridden in an ambulance before?”
“No,” replied Michelle. “I haven"t.”
“Well, all you need to do is relax. Don"t let the sirens disturb you. I will activate them only in heavy traffic areas and intersections to alert other drivers on the road. Sometimes people tend to get startled when they hear the sirens. They can sound rather daunting.”
“Thank you for preparing me,” said Michelle. “I"ll just close my eyes and pray… for Evan.”
“Is that the patient"s name?”
“Yes.”
“Praying sounds like a good idea. We all hope that he will be fine. Fletcher University Hospital has a great reputation.”

John Fleming was making his way to the hospital exit and did not pay attention to the voice, having forgotten the alias he supplied to the Fletcher University Hospital administrator. If he was to pull off what he intended to accomplish, he did not want his real name heard by anyone.

“Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson!” Suddenly the name clicked in his head and he turned to see Stuart Williams hurrying toward him. “I"m glad I caught you before you left. Believe it or not, we just received a courtesy call from the administrator of the hospital thatMr. Troy is transferring from. He"s on his way to this facility as I speak.”

“What?” hollered John. “You just told me…”
“Yes… yes, I know. Believe me, our records clearly show him as arriving tomorrow, but the transferring hospital, as well as the ambulatory service, both had the transfer scheduled for this morning. I… don"t understand how there could have been such a miscommunication.”
John felt himself getting hot and sweaty under the collar. “So… when will he arrive?”
“Soon… in a matter of minutes.”
“May I wait in the entrance to greet him?”
“Greet him? The paramedics will need to get him to his room stat. If you want, you may stay in the waiting room and we can give you the patient"s status as soon as we know what it is. But you certainly will not be able to visit with him today.”
“I need to just go out and get some fresh air,” said John. “I"ll come back later.”
“Or you could call,” offered Stuart.
“Hmm? Oh… right. Maybe I"ll do that,” said John as he turned to leave the facility by the main entrance.

The ride was tortuous as Michelle"s anxiety did not allow her brain to rest. To get her mind offEvan"s fight for his life, she tried thinking about the arrangements she would need to make to get her car repaired. But thinking of the 1967 Camaro RS only made her reminisce about Evan"s gift and how they might probably enjoy it no more. The fact that she felt responsible tortured her even more than if she had not been the driver at the time of the accident. Her thoughts raced back to their road journey together.

Michelle was excited to be at the wheel of a sporty car for almost a year and a half. Also, providing transportation for Evan made her feel like a more important cog in the relationship. She liked the responsibility despite Evan"s constant reminders of how important she was already. It was easy going thus far, as they spent over a year living and working in Santa Monica while meeting a lot of Hollywood celebrities before embarking on a trek that would take themthrough the southwest… perfect weather conditions for a novice and diminutive driver who required a back rest to help keep her in a forward-leaning position in order to reach the gas pedal.

It was Evan"s idea to travel the historic and scenic route 66. As they pulled into Flagstaff, Arizona, they joked about what a great idea it was to traverse the desert during the hot summer months.

“The idea all along was to brave the harshest temperatures to make it all the more easyto check out the Grand Canyon,” joked Evan.

“Besides, I love the way you look with your hair all sweaty.”
“I must look terrible.”
“On the contrary… the sun seems to have lightened your hair color to an even more pleasant hue of honey-colored brown. I like it. Then again… it could just be another manifestation of that human phenomenon I refer to as soulshine.”
Michelle smiled. She considered Evan"s concept of soulshine, the belief that a beautiful soul has a direct effect on the continuously perceived improvement of the outward appearance, to be the ultimate compliment.
“So,” said Evan, “how about hanging out for the autumn and winter right here in Flagstaff?”
Michelle looked around. “Sounds nice to me. Then again, it seems like anyplace whereI"m with you works out just fine.”
Evan smiled, reached out his hands as they sat parked in the car, wiped the sweat from both sides of her face, and they kissed. “That roadside diner looks inviting, doesn"t it?”
“Mm-hm. Evan… sometimes I feel like I"m inside a wonderful dream and that any moment I"m going to wake up and find out that none of this is happening.”
“Hmmm. Do you get this feeling often, Soulshine?”
“Just every now and then… whenever I feel like I"m not supposed to be this extremely happy.”
“Then I have an idea.”
“What?”
“Tonight, let"s make sure you don"t wake up from that wonderful dream.” Michelle blushed. Evan loved the way she continued to exhibit a little shyness even though they had been together for years, including the last three traveling exclusively with each other.
Soulshine
.
It’s so fitting that she looks just like she did when we fell in love with each other.
“So… what do we do once we find a place to settle down?” she asked.
“Well, we should find some means of employment again.”
“What will we do for work?”
“Back in Santa Monica, we did everything from bussing tables to caring for the elderly. We"ll find something here too.”
“You should have done some acting in Hollywood. I"m sure that once they saw you audition, you would have gotten a job.”
“Michelle, the last thing I need is to have my face plastered across the silver screen for everyone in my recent past to see.”
Michelle quickly had a flash of her parents viewing the latest movie starring Evan… with or without a stage name to try to hide the appearance. “I suppose you could have asked for a role with a lot of makeup… and you would have used a stage name… as long as you didn"t change your real… er… the name I have grown to love.”
“It would have been too risky. Back in the theaters, I could find some small playhouse willing to pay me under the table in order to avoid having to provide identification for tax purposes. Hollywood doesn"t work that way.”
“It"s just that it"s so difficult to keep finding new jobs under that condition.”
Evan shrugged. “Luckily, we don"t need to earn huge amounts of cash. What has helped the most is your ability to open savings accounts withthe money I"ve accumulated over the years. That account back in Santa Monica enabled us to live off the interest since weleft there.”
Evan shrewdly had their lives planned out, at least until Michelle could no longer use her current legal forms of identification to do the things that he could not do, like open bank accounts and drive automobiles. He knew that someday he would need to change the plan when Michelle could no longer convince people that she is as old as her identification states she is, but it would certainly require some clever help with falsifying documents. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy time with his Michelle. He had waited too long to be deeply in love with another soul.
Besides
, he thought,
what could possibly go wrong?

Early the next morning, Evan decided to get an early start and take a walk around the city. Providence was mid-size as far as cities go and, even though it was dwarfed by New York, he yearned for a bigger change just as he had yearned for a huge change when he left Indiana for the big city. This time, however, he wanted something in between. He wanted to become part of a well-populated community for eight to ten years, just not a frantically bustling concrete jungle.

When he returned back to his hotel, he noted the bus depot across the street. He decided to go back to his room, pack up his belongings, and choose a bus that had one of the surrounding towns as its destination. The bus he chose had the simple destination „Riverside" displayed above the large front window. It sounded picturesque.

The bus crossed the Providence River and took an exit on the other side of the river. The road was lined with trees and the homes and businesses looked charming and quaint. The buildings on the right had the river as their backdrop. The bus stopped at the end of the road and turned in a parking lot to let people off before it would return in the opposite direction with a new set of passengers.

Evan heard the distinct sound of carnival organ music as he smelled the fresh scent of the beach. Outside was an amusement park, the likes of which he had never seen before. He had been to Coney Island and the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, but this park was different. It was in the middle of a community and was not a national tourist attraction. It seemed more like it was a private haven for families to enjoy the summer days together… a private haven just known to Rhode Islanders.