Love Immortal

by Linnea Hall

  “I guess you could call us that. According to my uncle, there are a little more than one hundred of us in our family. You have to understand too, that when I say family, I don’t mean brothers and sisters. These are others like us; travelers I guess would be the best term, but not necessarily blood relations.

  “Anyway, we don’t usually stay in one place for very long. I guess that, because we are constantly moving, my uncle has always discouraged me from developing relationships. He thinks that, because of the way we are, it would be hard for us to change for someone who isn’t like us, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask someone else to change for what we are.

  “I think some of it too is that my uncle lost a wife. It still haunts him and I think that he’s trying to spare me the same pain.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “Well, he doesn’t talk about it much, but the way I understand it is that she decided to leave her family, to take up his life of travelling, and it was too much for her. She couldn’t handle it. Eventually, she got sick and died. Uncle Percy thinks it was a combination of the hard lifestyle, the constant change in climate, along with the grief she felt at losing her family.”

  Jewell looked at him, trying to read what was in his eyes. They looked pained. “So what, he wants you to marry another Traveler?”

  “Pretty much, yeah, but I think it’s more than that. Lately, since the accident, it’s like he’s been keeping something from me. Somehow, I think that whatever this secret is has something to do with his attitude towards my relationships, has something to do with the family.”

  “So you don’t think he would approve of me?”

  “Think of it like a devout Catholic deciding to fall in love with an atheist.” Collin laughed a little as he reached out and took Jewell’s hand across the table.

  “He doesn’t know about me then?” For some reason, this bothered her. It made her feel like their relationship was dishonorable somehow. As if she didn’t have the right to have these feelings about him.

  “No. And for now, I don’t intend to tell him. I’m not sure how he would react. He’s my only blood family. I can’t lose him. But I can’t lose you either. Do you understand?”

  “But, you’ll have to tell him sometime, right? I mean if we…” Her thought trailed off.

  Collin could sense her apprehension. “This morning, when I kissed you, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop. I wanted you so bad at that moment. I thought…I thought that if I stopped then, if I took you home and never saw you again…But I couldn’t stop thinking of you. I need you Jewell. I’m being selfish, but I can’t help myself. It’s like when I’m with you, my world is whole.”

  Jewell felt her heart racing. Suddenly, she felt faint, the room started to close in around her.

  Collin watched her with concern. Her face had gone from red, to a shade of green, to pasty white. He moved to her side, worried that she was going to faint. She grasped his arm to support herself. “I…I have to get out of here. I have to leave, now.”

  Collin pulled fifty dollars out of his wallet and placed it on the table. He gently helped Jewell up from her chair and started to walk towards the door, supporting her weight with an arm around her waist. The waitress saw them leaving, but then saw how ill Jewell looked. She hurried over. “Is she okay? Should I call an ambulance?”

  “No, I think she’ll be okay once she gets some fresh air.” The waitress wrung her hands nervously and watched Collin lead Jewell from the restaurant. Once they were outside, Collin scooped Jewell up into his arms, cradling her like a child. She put her arm around him and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent. He carried her to a tree near the river and set her down gently in the grass. “Are you okay?” He asked, fear weighing in his eyes.

  “I don’t know. I…just give me a few minutes. I need to think.” Collin started to walk towards the drawbridge just down from the restaurant. “No, don’t leave, just…” She couldn’t finish her thought. He settled himself in the grass near her. Close enough that she could reach him if she needed to, but far enough away that he felt like he was giving her the space she needed.

  “What are you thinking?” Collin finally asked after Jewell hadn’t looked at him for several minutes.

  When she turned her head toward him, he could see tears running down her face. “I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’m scared, I’m happy, I’m nervous”

  He moved closer and held her. “I’m scared too. I’m afraid of what my family will think, of how I will tell them. Jewell, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to live without you. I’m scared that you don’t feel the same way that I do. I know that what I should do right now is walk away, before it’s too late.”

  She spoke into his ear. He could feel her warm, sweet breath as she whispered four simple words, “It’s already too late.”

  *

  The next day Collin picked Jewell up just before lunch and took her to the Fountainbleu State Park. He parked and they started with a hike along one of the trails that started at the sugar mill. When they were done hiking, they went back to the car where Collin pulled a picnic basket from his trunk.

  Jewell took his hand and they walked to a picnic table that stood in the shade under an immense live oak with Spanish moss hanging delicately from its branches. From here, they could see the beach on Lake Pontchartrain where several families were enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon. On the lake, the many colored sailboats that drifted in the light breeze looked like so many spring flowers in a meadow yet to turn green.

  Collin set the picnic basket on the bench next to the table and opened it to reveal that is was well packed and filled with the most delicious aromas.

  They ate in comfortable silence, Jewell savoring every bite. After they were finished eating, Collin started packing everything back into the picnic basket. “Was it okay?”

  “Okay? It was unbelievable. Did you make all that?” Jewell was astounded at his seemingly limitless talents.

  “Well, no. Actually, my Aunt Gladys cooked all of this. I started to make sandwiches, pimento cheese, but she insisted that if I was going to have a picnic I should probably pack food you could actually eat.” He looked appropriately ashamed at his lack of skills, or imagination for that matter.

  “So, I guess Gladys knows about us. If she made us this picnic, I would guess she approves.” Somehow that made Jewell feel a little better considering their conversation of the night before.

  “Well, Aunt Gladys isn’t as strict as Uncle Percy. She’s more of a free spirit, and a bit of a romantic. But Percy still doesn’t know. Gladys promised not to say anything until I was ready. She did seem to have some of her own reservations though.”

  They put the picnic basket back in the trunk and walked down to the beach where they sat watching the sail boats.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Jewell said after a while.

  “Don’t hurt yourself.” Collin said sarcastically.

  “Ha ha. Seriously. I’ve been thinking about what you said about your uncle having a secret.”

  “Yeah, and what were your thoughts?”

  “Well, do you think that it has something to do with the way you healed so fast? I mean, it’s been what? Maybe three weeks since the crash, and you barely have a limp. You just went on a four mile hike and it didn’t even faze you. You should be dead…sorry…but really, you should at least still be in a hospital bed, and normal people with your injuries would need years of physical therapy. You said your uncle is a doctor. Maybe that’s it. Maybe he knows something about why you heal so fast.”

  “I never thought of that. What do you think it might be?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I can look in your file. I don’t get much access to the file room, but I can see if there’s something in there. It might give us some clues.”

  “No Jewell, don’t do that. You could get in really big trouble for looking at files you’re not supposed to be looking at. I would hate it if you got fired on my account.” Col
lin worried.

  “It’s not just about you Collin.” She said quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I love you Collin, I know that. But I’m also scared of you. I don’t know what you are.”

  “What do you mean, ‘what I am’?” Collin asked, suddenly anxious. “Maybe that’s what my uncle meant when he said that I shouldn’t get close to someone. Maybe you’re right. Maybe he’s right,” he whispered.

  Jewell took his hand. She held it in both of hers. “I’m not saying that it would change anything. It’s just something that…well, I’m just scared. You’re different and it’s not just that you’re a really great guy.”

  Collin leaned over and kissed her cheek. She was crying. Jewell noticed that she’d been doing that an awful lot since Collin came into her life, which worried her too. She moved over so that she was leaning against him. “Let’s not change anything until we know something else.” Jewell said into his shoulder. Collin nodded.

  “Are you ready to go home?” The sun was setting and almost all of the other visitors had left.

  “I’m sorry Collin. I ruined such a wonderful day. That wasn’t fair.”

  “No,” Collin said. “I’ve actually been wondering about it myself a lot. I told you, I shouldn’t have come back to the hospital after I left. It would have been better that way.”

  “No, we’ll figure this out. It’ll be okay. This is true love…you think this happens every day?”

  “Princess Bride?”

  “Very good.”

  “Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.”

  “Good point.” Jewell gave a short laugh.

  “Let’s go. We can decide if it’s worth talking about tomorrow.” He stood up and then reached down to help Jewell from the pier. They walked slowly. Collin had his hand around Jewell’s waist and Jewell’s head leaned against his side. “I love you Collin Sykes, come what may.”

  “I love you too, Jewell McKean, come what may.”

  Chapter 22

  “Well, if you don’t have any plans for the day, I’m going to go play softball with the guys. Can I trust you two here alone?” He glared at Collin.

  “Yes sir. I can assure you that my intentions with your daughter are nothing but honorable.” Collin answered formally.

  “They better be. You never know when I’ll be back. I can be gone for three hours…or I may just decide to drive around the block and come right back.”

  “Dad!” Jewell’s face was turning red as her father continued his lighthearted intimidation.

  Tommy McKean chuckled as he picked up his mitt and a bat. He stood in front of Collin, swinging the bat, testing the heft of it.

  “Dad! He gets it!” Jewell buried her face in her hands, embarrassed by her father’s display. Collin was a big guy, but her dad outweighed him by a good twenty pounds and despite his age, most of it was muscle. The firefighters spent a lot of time training. Collin hadn’t missed that fact. Collin also hadn’t missed the fact that Thomas McKean didn’t just have size, he had experience. Regardless, Collin’s uncle had raised him with old fashioned values. He had no intention of doing anything more with Jewell than a little kissing.

  Tommy finally decided to leave. When Jewell was sure he was gone, she turned to Collin. “Let’s do something really bad!” She grinned wickedly.

  “What did you have in mind?” He asked, intrigued.

  “Let’s jump on the couch and then play catch in the living room!”

  Collin laughed out loud. “I knew there was something I liked about you.”

  They sat on the couch, Jewell leaning against Collin, his arm wrapped around her. “Tell me about you.” She said.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I don’t know. Tell me about your Uncle Percy. What’s he like?”

  Collin shrugged, shifting a little so that Jewell was settled comfortably against his side. “Percy is Percy. He’s kind of a strange old coot.” He laughed a little. “He never seems to take things seriously, but he’s really serious about everything, if that makes any sense. Every single thing that happens, he notices, and it means something.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “I don’t know. I guess he’s had a rough life. He lost his wife before I was born. I guess he’s about what, fifty five or so. Jeez, I never thought about it, but I don’t really even know how old he is. It seems like he’s always been old, my whole life. But I guess that’s just because when you’re five, someone who’s thirty seems to have one foot in the grave!”

  “How’d she die? Percy’s wife, I mean?”

  “All I know is that she was really sick. Uncle Percy brought in every doctor he could find, but no one could do anything to help her. I think that’s why he went to med school.”

  “Wow. They must’ve been really young when she died then.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, you said that Percy was a doctor before your parents died, and his wife died before that. I guess it’s just the math and all. It must have been pretty tough on him.”

  “You know, I never really thought of that.”

  “So, was your dad Percy’s brother, or was your mom his sister?”

  “It wasn’t like that. They were like cousins or second cousins or something, but they were close and kept in touch. His relationship was with my mom, but from the way he talks, he really loved my dad too.”

  “Do you think that’s why he moves you around so much? He’s lost so much that he cares for, that he doesn’t want you to get too attached to anything you might lose?” Jewell had stretched out on the couch. Her legs draped over the end and her head rested in his lap. She was looking up into his eyes as he gently brushed her hair back from her forehead absently.

  Collin brushed his hand back over his head. Jewell thought that it looked like a habit he must have developed when his hair was longer, before the accident. He looked like he was pushing his hair back from his face. “Yeah, but not completely. That’s not all of it. I’ve felt like that before, but since the accident, I’ve overheard him talking to people and some of the things he says…I think Dr. Babineaux at the hospital, he knows too.”

  Jewell sat up and looked at him. “Do you think it has to do with the accident? Maybe something happened, an injury that they aren’t telling you about.” She tried to think. “I’ve only been working for a few months. I only just graduated. I don’t know enough to even guess at what…”

  “I guess that could be it, but I don’t think so. I think it was something from before, something that Dr. Babineaux found out because of the accident.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. That’s the problem. Look, can we talk about something else. I can’t think about this. Every time I try to ask him, he changes the subject, and the rest of my family won’t tell me anything.”

  “Yeah.” Jewell laid back down resting her head in his lap again. She had to work tonight. She would pull his file and see what she could find out. Whether Collin wanted to know or not, she had to know.

  “So what was it like, living in Europe?”

  “I don’t know. I guess a lot like living here. In most of the places, there were more markets instead of grocery stores; places where you could buy really fresh food. We shopped almost daily, instead of weekly like here. The languages were different, but otherwise, it was pretty much the same.”

  “I wish I could go somewhere. I’ve never been outside of Louisiana, except once. I went to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on a field trip.” She grimaced.

  “That doesn’t sound so bad. At least you didn’t have to learn a new language every three years.”

  “I took Spanish in high school. Hola, como estas?”

  He laughed. “That’s one I missed. I’ve got Ciao, come lei e? – That’s Italian. Bonjour, comment ca va? That would be French. Det, hvordan har du? That would be Danish, and Alo, ce mai faci? Romanian. Oh, and don’t forget Latin: Abys
sus, quam es vos?”

  “I would have loved to know Latin in nursing school.” Jewell sighed. “I still get a lot of the medical terminology confused.”

  “Speaking of which,” Collin said, glancing at his watch. “What time do you have to work tonight?”

  “I start at 6:00. I should probably call Ashley and see if she wants a ride.” She grinned up at him, “just in case.” She got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She picked up the phone and dialed Ashley as she watched Collin walk lithely into the kitchen. His graceful movements made her breath catch in her throat.

  “Hello?” She heard Ashley answer her phone.

  “Hey…” Jewell stopped to catch her breath. “Hey, do you want me to pick you up tonight?” Jewell was leaning against the counter, and Collin moved in front of her, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her waist. Jewell could feel his breath as he bent his head down to gently brush his lips against her neck.

  Collin heard Ashley’s answer through the phone, “Do I have a choice?”

  “No.” Jewell was barely able to choke out the word.

  “Let me guess,” Ashley said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “You have a guest?”

  “Um hm,” Jewell mumbled.

  Jewell heard Ashley sigh on the other end of the line. “I figured that’s what’s been keeping you too busy to call me.” Her tone was sharp, but Jewell could tell that Ashley was teasing her. “Pick me up at five.” Ashley hung up before Jewell had the opportunity to answer, not that she could have if she’d tried.

  Collin took the phone from her hand, and hung it on the hook. He moved his hands from the counter to her hips, and gently pulled her close to him. Jewell turned her face up to his as he bent down. His lips brushed hers, and then moved to her cheek where he gave her a gentle kiss; then to her forehead, where he kissed her again. He pulled his head back just enough so that he could look into her eyes, his lips even with hers. She could taste his breath as he whispered, “I should let you get some sleep. You have a long night ahead of you.”