The Pull of Destiny (87 page)

So we started dating, even
though it took me a while to tell Luke about it. I mean, Ahmed was definitely
going against the guy code, right? You surely weren’t supposed to date your
best friend’s ex-girlfriend, were you? But I decided that it would be better if
Luke heard the news from me. He took it pretty well and I’m sure I was just
imagining the tightness in his voice when he told me, “Tell Ahmed he’d better
treat you right or he’ll have to answer to me.”

His threats were unfounded.
For the year that Ahmed and I dated, he
did
treat me right. But we
clashed over the most ridiculous things and eventually I couldn’t take it (or
his drinking and incessant partying) anymore. I had the whole ‘it’s not you,
it’s me’ talk with him and we decided to just be friends. It was better that
way.

After Ahmed, I was more than
a little bit disillusioned with the mess that was my love life (especially
since all my friends were happy couples and Luke had been with his girlfriend
for over
two
years at that point) and decided to put it on hold while I
focused on important things. After graduating from Eastman with a Bachelor’s
degree in Music, (
with honors to boot
) I got a job teaching music to
impoverished inner city kids at a community center. It was hardly glamorous but
I loved every second of it. I’d always had a soft spot for kids and getting
paid to teach was a dream come true for me. Within two months, I moved out of
our East Harlem apartment (along with Aunt Kelly, whom I practically had to
drag out of the building) to a modest two bedroom apartment in Washington
Heights. It was hard to leave the old neighborhood, but at the same time I was
glad to start afresh.

At least I made good on my
promise to move Aunt Kelly out of the hood.

But I couldn’t start afresh
without admitting one very important fact to myself- I was still in love with
Luke. I had never stopped loving him. Some days I would lay in bed, just
reminiscing over our brief past together, wondering what might have been if Mr.
Astor didn’t send him to the U.K. Would we have still been a couple?

Who knows?

Not once did I ever tell Luke
how I still felt about him. I mean, he was dating Seiko and he was happy with
her! Why should I throw a spanner in the works by asking him if he ever thought
about us?

 
Don’t be a hater, Celsi.

So I kept my feelings to
myself, hoping that one day we might get a second chance to make things work
but knowing deep inside that it wasn’t going to be possible.

Luke and I still talked
constantly but I had all but forgotten our old promise to meet at Liberty
Island in five years to open the time capsule when I got a short and simple
email from him one random Tuesday morning.

‘Dear CiCi,

Let’s meet on Saturday.
Liberty Island at 4. Bring a shovel. Don’t be late.

Luke.’

That email was the reason I
was on Liberty Island, shivering in my jacket as I patiently waited for Luke to
show up, trying to keep the ‘he won’t show up’ thoughts at bay. I wasn’t late,
even though I didn’t bring a shovel, (
there is
no
way I could
have gotten it past the security screening
) not that we needed one since I
had already located the capsule, but Luke was nowhere to be seen.

Where is he?

My mind kept coming up with
various reasons as to why he still wasn’t here at 4.15.

Did I read the time wrong in
my excitement?

That idea was quickly crossed
off my mental list. In the days leading up to today, I read and reread that
brief email, searching in between the lines for some hidden meaning, smiling at
the ‘CiCi’ salutation... I was positive that he had written ‘4’, but just to be
on the safe side, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the email
again, nodding to myself.

Yup. 4.

Is he stuck in traffic?

It was possible. After all,
it
was
a Saturday and JFK
was
a busy airport. But I wasn’t too
sure about that explanation.
He would call if he was
. Luke was just too
courteous
not
to call.

Maybe he changed his mind.

That was the one my
overactive imagination kept turning to and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Sinking down onto a weathered bench, I turned the capsule around in my hands.
So
many memories...

My mother’s locket. Rhea’s
pencil. My lucky pencil.

“If he’s not here in five
minutes I’m opening it,” I said out loud, prompting an older couple to stare at
me before muttering to each other under their breath.

Five minutes stretched into
ten and I started getting worried as another ferry landed and Luke wasn’t among
the flurry of people that got off. Luke was never late for anything! That
wasn’t his style. So did that mean that he was blowing me off?

I shook my head vehemently,
whipping my hair around my face.

No. Wait it out.

Where was my faith in Luke?
He wouldn’t have fired off that email if he didn’t intend on showing up, right?
Luke was a man of his word.

Ten minutes turned into
twenty-five and even I, Miss Optimistic, had to concede defeat. It was getting
chillier by the second and Luke
still
wasn’t here. Maybe I should just
open the capsule, take out my stuff and leave him a ‘Celsi was here’ note?

Maybe he got sidetracked by
Seiko.

The instant that snide
thought swooped into my head I felt embarrassed and rightfully so. What had
Seiko ever done to me?

Apart from steal your man,
nothing.

He wasn’t my man when they
started dating though.

But still!

Shut
up
, mind.

Yeah, five years on, I was
still arguing with myself.

Deciding that opening the
capsule then catching the ferry and heading home was my best bet, I tried to unscrew
the cap but failed. The mulch coating the capsule smeared on to my hands,
making me groan.

“Shoot,” I muttered, wiping
my grubby hands on a Kleenex. Cracking my knuckles (maybe
that
would
help) I tried to open the capsule again, this time gripping the bulk of it
between my knees as I tried to twist the top off.

A reproachful voice behind me
exclaimed, “You’re opening the capsule without
me
?”

“Luke!” My head turned so
fast I got a kink in my neck, but that paled in comparison to seeing Luke for
the first time in two years. My eyes widened as I took him in, flickering over
every detail. The slight smile on his face. The way his hair was blowing in the
stiff breeze.

Stepping closer and taking
advantage of my utter shock at seeing him in living color (even though I
had
been expecting him), Luke continued, “Where’s your
faith
in me, CiCi?
Your
trust
? I can’t believe you were going to just open it alone!”

“Well, considering that
you’re almost half an hour late, do you blame me?” I countered smartly, my verbal
paralysis breaking as I stood up, almost carelessly dropping the capsule on the
bench. I was trying to act cool and seem like I was annoyed at him showing up
late, when in reality I was so ecstatic to see him that if he had shown up two
hours late, it would still be worth it.
Five years on, you’re
still
whipped, Celsi
. My heart skipped a beat as I looked up into Luke's
familiarly handsome face. “You never used to be late for anything, so I-.”

“Thought I wasn’t going to
show?” he cut in, smirking as his eyes held mine.

Grudgingly, I nodded, my lips
twitching. “Precisely.”

“My plane got delayed.” Luke
spread his hands palm up as he explained earnestly. “I tried calling you but I
kept going to your voicemail. So as soon as we landed I jumped in a cab and came
straight here.”

I’ve got to admit, I wasn’t
really paying much attention to what he was saying. My focus was on his face,
the way his lips moved when he talked, the way his eyes were filled with
honesty as he spoke.
Hey, it’s been two years since I last saw him; I’m
allowed to get my ogle on, aren’t I?
He looked good, healthy and fit.

In a word, gorgeous.

Sighing, I shook my head,
fighting back a smile. I could
never
stay mad at Luke for long. It was
just an impossible task. Just one puppy dog look from those green eyes and I
melted.
Dammit.
“Alright, you’re forgiven for being late,” I said,
rewarded by a big grin as he rubbed his hands together.

“You damn right I am,” he
said smugly, like he could tell that I was just pretending to be pissed at
waiting for him.
Right again, Luke.
My breath hitched as he stepped
closer, his eyes on my face as he looked down at me. “Now, do I get a hug or
something?”

That old, familiar feeling of
comfort wafted through my body as Luke wrapped his arms around me, his breath warm
against my neck. I hugged him back, feeling his heartbeat through our clothing
as I inhaled the subtle scent of his cologne.

Resting my head on his
shoulder, I whispered, “I missed you.”

More than you’ll ever know.

“I missed you too,” he
whispered back, pressing a kiss against my forehead as he stepped back, sliding
his hands down my arms to clasp my hands in his. His eyes raked over my face,
releasing a flurry of butterflies in my stomach. “You look really pretty with
that hair.” I giggled as he breathed in, knowing exactly what he was up to.
“And it still smells like strawberries. I love you for washing your hair with
that shampoo!”

My heart jumped in my chest
as he said ‘I love you’. Don’t get me wrong, I
knew
what he meant, but
some whimsical part of me couldn’t help hoping that maybe, just maybe, he meant
it differently.

Wishful thinking at its best.

Swallowing nervously, I
reluctantly took a step back, trying to put a little bit of space in between
Luke and I. “Thanks.”

“Do
I
look different?”
he wanted to know, tilting his head to the side.

Nodding, I replied, “You look
a little more mature but overall, you’re the same old Luke in my book.”

“I had a lot of growing up to
do,” Luke said, biting his lip, lost in thought. The wind picked up speed, whistling
through the leaves and he hugged himself. It was a chilly day, especially on
the island, but Luke was simply dressed in a blue t-shirt and jeans. If I was
cold in my jacket, just how cold was he? As if reading my mind, he went on to
say, “It’s cold here. I left my jacket in the cab.”

Suddenly remembering that we
were here to open the capsule, I said, “Do you want to open the capsule before
it gets any colder?”

Maybe Luke had someplace to
be. I definitely didn’t want to be the person who made him late for whatever
plans he had later on. We were here to do just
one
thing, no matter if I
wanted to prolong it. It was high time we got a move on.

“Well...” Luke started, his
voice trailing off as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Looking
uncharacteristically nervous, like he was sure I was going to say no to
whatever he was suggesting, he continued. “CiCi- do you have any plans for
tonight?”

Now
that
was an
unexpected question.

I shook my head slowly,
wondering if laying on the couch, watching ‘My Sisters Keeper’ with a big bowl
of popcorn was considered ‘plans’. Because that was what I intended to do after
we left Liberty Island.
I never
said
my life was interesting.
“No.
I’m free all evening.”

Well done. Now Luke knows
what a sad life you lead.

Seriously, it was Saturday in
the Big Apple and I didn’t have a date. Well, I had a date with my PVR but
let’s face it, TV is a poor substitute for a red-blooded male. How pathetic was
I?

Seeing Luke's face light up
with my answer suddenly made me glad that I didn’t have plans for tonight.

“Sweet! I was thinking that
we could go for dinner and catch up, then head to the Empire State Building and
open the capsule up there.” An eager expression flickered onto his face as he
looked at me. “I don’t know about you, but the Empire State Building holds a
special place in my heart.”

I smiled at the force of his
enthusiasm.
He is just so cute!
“Me too,” I admitted.

“Do you want to have dinner
with me?” Luke asked, an endearingly shy smile on his face as he scratched his
cheek anxiously.

The uncertainty in his voice
tied my stomach into knots. “Do you even have to ask?”

Of course I want to have
dinner with you, you idiot!