by Lori Cohen
We hugged when he got to my locker at lunch. “Thank you for starting my day off so perfectly today. You make my life right too,” I said smiling. We stared at each other for a long minute and then I just burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Owen asked.
“It’s just the craziness of this whole thing! How we got into this bizarre situation! I just have to explode once in a while!” I answered.
“I get it,” he chuckled.
“So, my mom suggested that we call the tennis club and try to find someone there who might have known Emilia and Kerry back then,” I said.
“I thought about that too last night! It’s not that weird to be looking for an old friend. The weirder part is finding one of them and explaining our whole story to her,” he said.
“Hello love birds,” Dani said as she approached us. “Liam and I were wondering if you guys want to get together Saturday night? North End for pizza?” she asked.
Owen and I both nodded and said, “Yeah, for sure!” simultaneously.
Dani, looking from me to Owen, and back again. just smiled and said, “Oh, you two…you’re just too perfect.”
We walked outside to the student parking lot and Owen opened the driver’s side door and reached inside. “I got this for you while I was away. I didn’t get a chance to write a note to go with it until last night when I got home. Here, sit down,” he said.
I sat in the driver’s seat and opened his note to me.
Dear Aria,
Meeting you has changed my life forever.
You are the girl of my dreams. Literally.
I have never known feelings like this.
I have so much love for you.
No matter what we learn in the coming weeks and months,
I am here for us.
You are everything to me.
Love, Owen
“Owen, this is so beautiful. Thank you,” I said as I stepped down to hug him. “I love you too, so much,” I said.
“I know you do. I feel it... Unwrap the gift now,” he said.
I sat back onto the seat and unwrapped the small box. Inside was a sparkling pair of ruby stud earrings. “Oh my gosh Owen! They’re stunning! My, I mean, our, birthstone! Thank you so much!” I quickly removed the earrings I’d been wearing and replaced them.
“They look amazing on you. I was going to give them to you on our birthday, but I couldn’t wait,” he said.
“Well I’m going to treasure these, and your note forever. I love them,” I said as I hugged him, sprinkling little kisses on his face.
“I was thinking, for our birthday, I’d like to spend the day on Cape Cod to celebrate. I really can’t think of a better place,” he said smiling.
“Wow! That’s a fantastic idea! We could see everything you saw, but together this time! You are so thoughtful. I can’t thank you enough.” I was completely overwhelmed by him. We stood in the parking lot hugging for a long time, before he took me home.
My mom was puttering in the kitchen when I walked in. “Look at these gorgeous earrings that Owen just gave me!” I blurted out.
“Wow, rubies! They’re fabulous! How sweet and thoughtful of him. He’s mature beyond his years Aria,” she said.
“I know, right? He’s amazing. I love him so much,” I said to her for the first time.
“I can see that you do and I’m so happy for you honey,” she said hugging me.
“For our birthday, he wants to take me to the Cape to celebrate!” I said.
“That is so special. Going there is definitely a part of your journey together. It’s hard to imagine what that experience will be like for the two of you,” she said.
“Yeah it is hard to imagine. It’s such a strange adventure. We can’t make sense of it yet, but maybe being there will help us figure it all out,” I said, full of hope.
Owen and I went to the library after school the next day with our laptops, ready to do some more searching. We’d made a call on the way over to the New Seabury Tennis Club, but all we got was a recording to leave a message. The only contact info we could find was for the tennis director who’d only been there since 2011. The chances were slim that he’d know who was around in the late 90’s. We’d send an email anyway, just in case he knew something.
“It really seems like this New Seabury area is more for vacationers in the summer months. Emilia and Kerry could be from another state entirely,” I said.
“Yeah, they could’ve moved anywhere in the world, gotten married and changed their names. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to track them down, but it’s all we’ve got for now. I can confirm that neither of them from what I can see, went on to have astonishing careers in tennis,” Owen chuckled.
“Haha, that’s cute,” I said.
Later that night, I woke myself up and out of a dream. In my dream, Emilia was talking to me in a New York accent. The other people had strong Boston accents, but hers was definitely a strong New York accent. It was a clue to where she was from! Even though it was the middle of the night I pulled open my laptop and started googling, but I still couldn’t find anyone who was the right age. Enough for tonight. I need to sleep, I thought, shutting my laptop. I couldn’t wait to tell Owen the news from my dream.
“No way! I can’t believe that you had that dream last night!” he said, when I told him about Emilia’s accent the next day at lunch.
“I know! It was so weird! I guess my subconscious mind was working to help me out on this one! We’re going to have to be somewhat creative on our google searches to see what we can find,” I said.
“Come on, let’s go start now!” he said as he put his arm around me and led me to the school library.
We both typed away at record speeds while taking bites of our sandwiches in between. We were throwing crazy stuff into our search engines hoping something would materialize. After almost an hour, one of my search ideas finally worked! I thought maybe one of the two girls had gotten married at Popponesset Inn because I’d seen some images of weddings in one of the brochures Owen brought back. Sure enough, google images had several shots of Kerry in a wedding dress with her groom, Michael Donley.
“Bingo!” I said to Owen.
It was time to get back to class, so with a renewed excitement about our search for answers, we hugged and went our separate ways. Further research would have to wait.
Last period rolled around and it was time for our big presentation in World Religions. With all of my thoughts directed towards finding Kerry, I had almost forgotten to be nervous. But walking into class, it hit me like a brick. My stomach was churning, and my heart was racing. I looked towards Owen and saw him sitting in his chair, cool as ever — smiling, entirely unflustered. I loved that about him. I took a deep breath and kept looking at Owen, as if to get some of his calm by osmosis. It was working. We stood up, gathered our “Afterlife” presentation materials and took over the classroom.
Objectively speaking, we killed it. After our presentation, we opened it up to questions and from there, a full class discussion took place. Everyone was fired up by the topic and had something to say. Even Mr. Rauch wanted to weigh in on the subject, indicating that he had given the subject of the afterlife quite a bit of thought throughout his life. He was exceedingly well-informed on the subject and seemed to believe that we were too. It was clear that he personally believed that life continues after death - that there is so much more to existence than just the life we know, in the body we know. The soul, he was sure, was immortal. Most of his family, he revealed, were killed during the Holocaust. He confided that his mother gave birth to him in a concentration camp and he often felt the spiritual connection to those that passed there before he was born. He did not elaborate about this very personal feeling he had. But sitting there listening to him, it was clear that for Mr. Rauch, afterlife was not merely belief, but knowledge.
When class was over, I felt like I had run a marathon. I was exhausted from the nerves, and then from the heated and passion
ate discussion. My thoughts were in a thousand different places. Owen walked me down to my locker speechless, but when we got there, he put my books down, took my hands in his and said, “I know your mind is all over the place right now. Just know mine is too. We’re so connected.”
I took a deep breath and hugged him, speaking softly into his shoulder, “We are.”
Saturday afternoon, I finished studying for my final exams. As I was putting my work away, I got a text from Dani, “Head into Boston at 7?”
Oh crap, I thought, I completely forgot that Owen and I were double dating with Dani and Liam. I quickly texted Owen first to make sure he hadn't forgotten, as I had.
He wrote back immediately, “Of course I remember! I will drive. Tell Dani I will pick you up first and then head over to her place to get her and Liam.”
He is perfect, I thought to myself. Like not a little perfect, but completely, utterly, insanely perfect.
There was a huge line at Pizzeria Regina, as always. None of us were starving, so we waited patiently in the line for 40 minutes. Liam seemed a bit shy with us, but I guess it was understandable being the new guy. Dani definitely compensated with her amazing personality and sense of humor. I was happy that Owen had this time to get to know Dani better too.
At one point during dinner Dani just blurted out, “So, you guys cool if I tell Liam about your whole dream thing?”
“Um, well, I’m sure Liam doesn't want to hear about that,” I said, a bit uncomfortable that we would be going there…
“What dream thing?” Liam asked with a big bite of pizza in his mouth.
“Aria and Owen just met this school year and they have the same dreams as each other,” Dani explained, pretty much ignoring my hint that I didn't want to talk about it.
“Yikes,” Liam said, contorting his face.
“Ya, crazy right?” Dani said.
“So what’s that about? You guys psychic or something?” Liam asked curiously, but not judgmentally.
Owen and I looked at each other like that was something we had never considered before. “No,” Owen said, “I don’t think we are psychic, so please don't ask us to pick lottery numbers or anything.” We all laughed and once again, I was thankful for Owen and his ability to always steer us in the right direction.
At the end of the night, Owen took me and Dani to my house, so she could sleep over. We both wanted to dissect every detail of the double date. It was fun to be like the old carefree Aria. We laughed until the wee hours of the night and fell asleep fully clothed lying on top of my bed. I felt so thankful for the lightness.
Chapter 16
I went into exam week with an overall average of 94%, which I felt confident that I maintained after all was said and done. I wouldn’t know for sure for weeks, but at that point in time, I truly was just happy to be through the school year. It was time to focus on finding Kerry and reaching out to her. Amazingly, I felt more nervous about what was to come with our dream research, than taking my finals.
The day after Owen finished his last exam we went to work. “Project KD” he dubbed it. “Kerry Donley, here we come,” he said as he went to work. The wedding photo we found on Google Images was definitely taken at Popponesset Inn. We both recognized the gazebo on the familiar beach. The photo linked back to a photographer’s website, Joseph Greenberg Photography.
“We could just email him and ask him for her contact information…” I proposed. “I could just say that I am an old friend of hers and I want to reconnect with her.”
“Worth a try…I guess,” Owen agreed.
I clicked the “Contact us” link on his website and quickly scrolled down to the bottom of the page to see the email address. “Based on this map, Osterville is another town in Cape Cod, close to New Seabury,” I said.
“Scroll back up! You went right passed the photo!” Owen was nudging next to me on the chair, “Aria, look at the photo of Joseph!”
I scrolled up to see a portrait photo of the photographer. This man, in his thirties, was most certainly one of boys we knew from our dreams. The unique reddish-brown hair and freckled face were all too familiar. His face, second from the left on my fourth canvas, was staring back at me now, aged, but decidedly the same. Owen and I looked at one another. Owen knew this boy well from his dreams, he was his buddy and seeing his photo was jarring, I could tell because Owen looked a bit pale. His name was Joseph. The pieces were starting to come together. Our friends, Joseph, Emilia and Kerry were real.
“Okay, now what?” I asked. “We have Joseph’s contact info and the names of two of the girls. Should we email Joseph? What do we say?”
“How about we make an appointment with him for when we go down to the Cape in a few weeks?” Owen suggested.
“Great idea! I will say I want to do some family portraits on the beach for my parents’ anniversary, so I want to meet him and see some of his work.”
“Perfect! That way we can ask him a million questions and he won’t know why, but something will give us a lead.” Owen was excited.
“Exactly! We have a plan! A good plan.” I then crafted a simple email requesting a meeting on July 19th, the day of our birthdays. I was hoping that we might have a special gift of unwrapping a mystery if we played our cards right.
Frustrated, we waited the rest of the day and night until finally an email popped into my inbox at 9:05 a.m. the next morning. “Dear Aria, It would be a pleasure to meet with you and your friend on July 19th at 11 a.m. I am looking forward to hearing all about your ideas for the shoot. Sincerely, Joe.” I forwarded the email to Owen and he replied with a smiley face.
Fourth of July was always a big deal in my neighborhood. All the families gathered on the street at sundown and indulged in a huge street picnic with finger foods, games for the kids, drinks for adults, and fireworks for everyone. For as long as I can remember, I found the popping sounds of the fireworks unnerving, and this year was no different. After a couple of rounds of watching the mini explosions, I had enough. I asked Owen to come get me and take me to a movie. He was happy to oblige. I had always been mocked: how could anyone not enjoy a good fireworks display? I just didn’t, and that was more than okay with Owen.
Work started the next day and both Owen and I were counting down the days until we would go to Cape Cod. As it turned out, Sarah accepted a summer job waitressing in Hyannis, the main town on the Cape, and she was sharing a house with a couple of friends from school. She said it wouldn’t be a problem for Owen to sleep on her couch, and for me to stay in her room for a couple of nights. We both asked for the days off work. My mom was happy to accommodate me, but Owen’s boss gave him a hard time. To make it possible, Owen agreed to work seven days a week (rather than six) for the first couple weeks of the summer so that his landscaping crew would be on top of everything by the time he left. I thought he would be totally exhausted after the grueling work schedule, but when the two weeks were done, he was nothing but pumped and energized.
On July 18th we packed up our things, said our goodbyes, jumped in Owen’s Jeep and headed off on our adventure. We arrived mid-day and found Sarah and her friends waiting for us. They had prepared lunch that we ate out on the picnic table on the front porch. Their house was a typical “Cape Codder” painted white with dormer windows and kelly green shutters. Inside, it was basic but had all the necessities, including three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big sitting area, and full kitchen. It was walking distance to both the main street, where Sarah worked, and to the Sea Street beach. We made ourselves at home, and talked non-stop with Sarah and her friends, Kim and Cathy.
Sarah and I talked about how in all the years that we had lived in Brookline, we had never gone to Cape Cod. Our family tended to go North to Cape Ann, on Boston’s North Shore and Kennebunkport, Maine where my parents had friends. This first visit to Cape Cod felt special for many reasons; and strangely, it felt very comfortable. Like I had been there before.
Later that afternoon, Owen and I drove over to New Seabury. The
dreams had given us a roadmap, figuratively, and we knew exactly what we wanted to do together. As we parked the car, I felt overwhelmed with expectation. Owen, having already been there, watched me with anticipation as I looked around with fresh eyes at this familiar place.
“Well,” he said, “You ready?”
“With you, I’m ready for anything.” I grabbed his hand and walked toward the little village of shops. I felt myself almost skipping.
First, we rented bikes and navigated our way around
the narrow streets of Popponesset. With one hand on the handlebars, I reached for Owen with my free hand, and pulled him closer to me as we rode. We tried our best to be carefree and enjoy being with one another in a magical place. The smell of the salt air, and the cool ocean breeze made the sensory experience so strong. It was truly surreal.
Then we asked some people for directions to the beach club and found the discreet entrance behind a big cedar hedge. As we walked down the lattice-covered walkway, we heard music playing. Instinctively, we turned to look at one another smiling. The familiarity of this walk and the sound of the music coming from inside was palpable. As we rounded the corner, we walked past the snack bar, paused to take it all in, and then continued slowly down the weathered wooden stairs and onto the sandy beach. I felt the tears in my eyes as I stood on the warm sand looking out at the ocean’s horizon. The cool breeze blew through my hair and my skin tickled by the realness of it all.
Owen sensed the intensity of my emotions and stopped to hug me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure,” I confessed, “it’s almost too much to take.”
“I know,” he said solemnly, kissing my forehead, and holding me close.
We walked down the stretch of beach that seemed to go on forever, passing the homes set high up on the cliff. Although we had never been there, we seemed to know that if we kept walking, we would get to the edge of the golf course where the putting green met the beach. “The green is just around this bend,” Owen said taking my hand as we navigated the rocky part of the beach. I knew he was right. I had been there in my mind so many times. When we rounded the bend, the flag in the middle of the green, was waving in the breeze, like a prize — proof that we knew exactly where we were. Our connection, we knew, was equally as strong and as real.