by James Fink
ever spoken like that to him before. He didn’t know why or how, but he sensed that she might say that she had never been with someone so genuinely nice and concerned about her.
“Your soul is beautiful,” Benjamin said. He almost caught himself in time not to say that. It sounded so... childish.
Helen giggled in embarrassment
“Did I really say that?”
“Sorry I laughed, but it’s the first time someone has complimented me on my soul and not on my body.”
“Well, you have a nice body, too.”
She giggled again. He found he couldn’t say anything wrong or embarrassing around her. They talked for another hour. The conversation glided effortlessly between them. They didn’t drink or eat anything. At one point they just stared at each other without saying a word. Finally Helen got up.
“Are you leaving?” Benjamin said.
Helen nodded politely.
“Can I see you again?”
Helen thought it over for a second. “If you are asking me out for a date. The answer is yes.”
Benjamin’s grin made Helen giggle again.
“Can I pick you up somewhere? Can we go tomorrow? Where should we go? What should I wear?”
“It’s all right, Ben. You don’t have to be nervous around me. You can pick me up after school at 555 Nicolas Road. I hope you know where it is.”
“I can find it. Don’t worry.” Benjamin said excited.
“Goodbye, Ben. It was nice seeing you again and I’m looking forward to another date. I can feel us getting closer each time we meet.” Helen was gone before he could respond.
Usually, it was Doug who was coming home late on Saturday night and Benjamin who was sitting home alone watching TV. This time it was the other way around. Doug was slouched down into the couch, surrounded by empty beer bottles and chip crumbs.
“Where have you been, and how was she?” Doug smiled.
“I was at the restaurant.”
“This whole time.”
“It was... She wants me to go and pick her up again after school tomorrow.”
“After school?” Doug said perplexed.
“She’s a teacher.”
“A Sunday School teacher?”
“I guess so.” Benjamin’s still hadn’t recuperated from his intense headaches. His brain only registered the woman he was falling in love with. He could not concentrate long enough to make sense about anything else around him.
“Oh, man, Ben. You’ve got it bad. She’s got some kind of spell on you. Or are you... Are you really falling in love, for real?”
“I must be. I’ve never felt this way before. I’m not sure what is going on.”
“Come on. How can you be sure she’s not playing you?”
“Playing me for what? I don’t have any money.”
“It just sounds weird to me is all. You look like you need help.”
“Maybe I do need help. But I think she’s the only one who can help me. But there’s only one way to find out, if you feel up to it.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I... I don’t want to make sense. Can you lend me your car?”
“Not a chance. I’ve seen the way you drive.”
All right, then, fine. I need you to take me somewhere.”
“Where are we going?”
“To her house. She told me to pick her up there.”
“Um, Hello! She said tomorrow, didn’t she? Maybe you should get some sleep tonight before going over there.”
“I need to see her now, Doug. There is something about her... that makes me feel we belong together. Whoever she is, I need to find out now.”
Doug had one eye on the road, and one eye on Benjamin, just to make sure he wouldn’t crack up.
“Are you OK?” Doug asked.
“Yes, for the tenth time, I’m fine. I just need to see her.”
Doug slowed down along the street and pulled over. “Do you recognize any of these streets?” he asked.
“I thought you knew where we were going. Are we lost? Oh, that’s just great!”
“Relax, Ben,” Doug said. “I know what I’m doing.”
“I should have driven myself.”
“Hey, morose boy. This is my car. Besides, you’re in no condition to drive. If you want my opinion, you’re in no condition to meet this person either.”
“I don’t care,” Benjamin said, rubbing his temple. “I have to see her again. I only have to get rid of this headache.”
“Look! Ha!” Doug shouted. “Nicolas Road.”
Doug took a right turn, then crept along so they could see the house numbers. The houses along the street were a good distance from each other. They all looked quite old, probably between one hundred and two hundred years old. They were all fairly large houses, although they looked small on those huge lots. Doug stopped in front of the number 555. It looked particularly small and stuffy. Unlike some of the other houses, it didn’t have an addition, was in its original condition except for the wear. The brick, once a light red, was now a dark dirty grey mixed with the original red. The black roof showed a few tiles loose as they were flipping up and down in the wind. The window frames were recently painted, and they glowed in the sunlight. A white picket fence surrounded the front lawn. Benjamin stared at the front door from Doug’s car.
“555 Nicolas Road.” Benjamin sighed softly before he stepped out of Doug’s car. “Do you mind waiting for me?”
“Sure Ben. Go ahead and have fun. I’ll be listening to the radio. Don’t get caught up in something, or someone, for too long, though.”
Doug turned the music on. As if the radio knew the house’s age, an older song came on with tinny music and a man’s high tenor voice.
Ben’s heart pumped hard and his hands began to moisten. The fence’s gate announced his arrival by creaking loudly. He couldn’t find the doorbell, so he knocked on the door, maybe a little too loudly. A young man in his teens opened the door. Benjamin wondered if Helen brought her students home for studies.
“What can I do for you?” the young man said when Benjamin stood silent.
“I’m looking for Helen. She told me to meet her here.”
The young man stood there examining Benjamin thoroughly without saying anything.
“Is she here?”
“You said Helen told you to come here?”
“Yes. We went out earlier this evening. I may be a bit early today.”
“You sure it was Helen?”
“Of course it was.”
“What are you trying to pull?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sir, it’s just not possible.” The young man started to close the door.
“What are you talking about?” Confused, Benjamin stuck his foot in the door so it was not able to close. “Is this the right house?” he asked.
“Who is it, Tommy?” asked an old woman’s voice from inside the house.
“No one grandma!” the kid shouted back. “Just some crackpot.”
Benjamin could hear the thumping sound of a cane approaching. He could also hear the wooden floor creak along with the thump. He couldn’t see her face yet but he saw her curly dark and dirty grey hair.
“It’s OK, grandma,” the kid said. “I can handle this.”
“I told you to be courteous to visitors,” the old woman said. Her high-pitched voice was close now.
“This man says he’s here to see Helen.”
The old woman appeared and then turned to Benjamin. The cane shook in her hand as she studied him. Her back was hunched over, almost folded in half. Benjamin could see the arthritis forming all over her hands. “I don’t see how that’s possible, son,” she said. “No one named Helen lives here.”
“He says he saw her last night,” the kid said.
“I had dinner with her,” Benjamin said. “She said I should pick her up here after school. I may be a little early.”
“Tell me why I should believe you.” She dared Benjamin
with her eyes.
“Believe me? Because Helen has the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen.”
“Oh dear,” the old woman said. Her hand trembled on the knob of her cane. “Maybe you should come inside and tell me about it. I’m afraid this has happened before.”
The kettle whistled in the cramped kitchen. The wooden floor cracked under the weight of the old woman even though she wasn’t very large. Her wrinkled skin covered small fragile bones. Benjamin was staring at a picture on the kitchen counter as she poured the tea. He picked it up and looked into the eyes of the woman in the picture.
“That’s Helen,” he said. “So she does live here.”
“Oh my, no, my dear. She lived here once a long time ago. That picture is very old. I’ve had this picture for a very long time...” the old woman said, trailing off. Her hand began to shake again.
“So this is Helen’s grandmother?”
“They did look quite alike. But, no I don’t think so. Oh dear. I can’t seem to remember any more.”
“No, grandma,” the kid said. “That’s Helen. That’s your sister.”
“She told me she was a schoolteacher,” Benjamin blurted out. He was getting impatient with this woman.
“Yes, and she was a good one too. The kids loved her. Where did you say you saw her?”
“At Essence, downtown.”
“Essence? Tommy, where is that?”
“They’ve reopened the place you’ve told me about,” the kid answered.
“Ah yes, that used to be a dance hall. They called it The Throttle. My sister was a lovely dancer. And you wouldn’t know it from these old bones, but I could cut a rug, myself. We were two little heartbreakers, that’s for sure. We would spend every Saturday evening there. We always talked about how we would meet our ‘other half’ there.”
“Other half?”
“The man, of course. The man who would come and sweep us