For Always

by Janae Mitchell

  He took a deep breath and said, "We're gonna have to wait. As much as I didn't want to stop, I had to." He groaned out loud like he was in pain, but I knew he was purposely being dramatic. "And you're so beautiful…and lovely…for goodness sakes. You just wait, Miss Reed," he laughed, shaking his head, "when the time's right I'm gonna…" He flashed his dimples at me before burying his face in my hair and groaning again, making me laugh.

  "I'll be looking forward to it," I said truthfully. But in my heart, I was afraid that time would never come.

  * * *

  I was sitting on the back porch eating cereal and talking to Beau, waiting on Grandmama to arrive with Max. It had taken us forever to find Beau's shirt after our little make-out session, which had me panicked. There was no explanation besides the truth that I could think of to explain why Beau was suddenly shirtless. Even though Grandmama couldn't see him, I knew that Max could.

  The weird part was where his shirt had ended up—down by the river. I would somehow have to nonchalantly ask Max about that. I told him to take off his pants and see if they would disappear, too, but he just laughed. I did have to admit, seeing him without his shirt on was a pleasant experience for my eyes. I wondered if this meant I could get him some new clothes. And if so, what would happen when I turned the ball off? Would he be able to keep them on or would they fall off? We would definitely have to test it and find out.

  I had brought my ball downstairs so Grandmama could hear both sides of the conversation between Max and Beau. I was hoping no one would remember it at bedtime and make me take it back upstairs. I had just come inside and plugged it up on the bar when I heard them pull up. Beau sat down, waiting with anticipation, as I opened the door and ran outside.

  "Max! I'm so happy to see you," I yelled as I ran toward him. He dropped his suitcase and opened his arms to hug me. "I've missed you." It had been at least two years since I had seen him.

  "You sure have grown up. Makes me feel so old," Max said, looking grim.

  "Ya are old," Grandmama teased him. He's around the same age as her, so she was allowed to make age jokes. "Let's get your things inside. Ya can stay in Malyn's room while you're here." Then she looked at me and said, "Do ya care to show him to your room while I make us some tea?"

  "Sure." When we walked into the house, I stopped at the bar before going upstairs. "Max, this is Beau; Beau, Max."

  Beau stood up and reached out to shake Max's hand. "Pleased to meet ya, sir."

  Max smiled and slowly reached out and took Beau's hand. "Likewise." He shook Beau's hand longer than what most people would shake someone's hand for. "That's amazin'. And it's takin' no effort at all?"

  "No, sir. As long as I'm near this thing, it's like I'm alive again."

  "So it seems." He finally let go of Beau's hand and picked up his suitcase.

  "Follow me," I said and took him upstairs and showed him around. I had cleared off my desk so that he could set his stuff there, which he did.

  "I really appreciate you lettin' me stay in your room," he said with his wonderful Georgian accent. He was from Savannah and just hearing him talk made me want to visit there. "I promise I won't wet your bed." He was so off the wall sometimes, which was one of the things I loved about him.

  "I sure hope not," I laughed.

  He was like a grandfather to me. He had grey hair that was rather long for a scientist, and a bushy mustache, which he would always rub when he was in deep thought. He had eyes the color of the sea and appeared to be fathoms deep when you looked into them. I knew they could see into my soul when he looked at me. He was average in height, but shorter than Beau. His appearance was relaxed: plaid shorts, a yellow button-up shirt, and sandals.

  "I'm glad you're here, Max," I said, thinking of Beau.

  He turned to look at me, reading my mind, I assumed. I don't think he actually could, but I knew he could come close. "I can see that." He sat down on the bed next to me and patted my hand. "I can see that this has become a complicated situation. And it's not your fault. You have a gift, Malyn. And just like in life, ya may not always like or appreciate the gifts that you're given, but at some point you'll undoubtedly need, and use, 'em. For instance," he said as he stood up and walked to his suitcase, "my cousin gave me a little food emulsifier for Christmas. Havin' no clue what to do with it, I put it up and never used it"—he got something out of his suitcase, holding it up for me to see. "Until now. I never leave home without it. Best gift ever! I can eat all day without havin' to chew a single thing." He put it back up and came and stood in front of me. "You just got to learn how to use the gifts you're given before ya can enjoy 'em." He smiled and held out his hand. "Let's go drink some of your 'mama's delightful tea."

  We all quietly gathered on the back porch so that Beau and Max could become acquainted with each other. Grandmama had made brunch for us to enjoy while we talked. I took a bite of cheese and waited for Max to begin.

  "Nellie, you spoil me," he said as he took a sip of her tea, which was delicious. He looked at Beau and said, "Pardon me for a minute, son, but I need to read you, if ya don't mind."

  Beau looked at him as if reading him was gonna hurt, but bravely replied, "Whatever ya need to do, sir."

  "He's very polite," he told Grandmama, who nodded in agreement. Max smiled and leaned forward on the table, rubbing his mustache, and stared at Beau, who stared back at Max. It was like a staring competition to see who would laugh first, which ended up being me.

  "Malyn," Grandmama fussed.

  "Sorry," I said with my mouth full. I focused on my food and tried not to look at anyone.

  A few minutes had passed before Max finally spoke. "Interestin'," he said as he leaned back. "Can you take me to the river? I'd like to feel out the area where ya converted."

  "Converted?" Beau asked.

  "That is a term I use in place of dyin'. You didn't die, after all," he stated as he stood up. "You just converted from bein' in a body to not." He then turned and headed toward the river.

  Thinking about my last visit to the lake, I opted to stay on the porch and eat. "You can fill me in when you get back," I told Grandmama when she asked if I was coming. I watched Beau and Max talking as they walked down the yard. Even in his tattered clothes and bare feet, he was a sight to behold. It made me think of Jace. With all the money and nice clothes he had, it was still hard to compare him to Beau.

  I finished eating and went inside to get my phone, realizing that I hadn't even turned it on today. I went into the sunroom and dug it out of my bag. When my phone came on, it beeped several times showing that I had a bunch of text messages—one from Beth, one from LeLe, and the rest from Jace. Then my voicemail notification lit up showing I had three missed calls, all from Jace. Then I remembered he was off yesterday and today and probably wanted to do something. Crap.

  I opened the text from LeLe first:

  Hey stranger! Watz up???

  Then I clicked on Beth’s:

  Plz call Jace. Hes drivin me nuts!

  Then I went through all of Jace's:

  Hey, wats up?

  U busy?

  Malynnn???

  R u ignorin me?

  Missin' u. call me

  Call me. I'm worried bout u.

  I didn't even listen to the messages he left, just went ahead and called him back.

  "Malyn, are you ok?" he asked without even saying hello, obviously worried.

  "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

  "I've not talked to you since Sunday, and neither has Beth. And you didn't return my texts or answer your phone." He almost sounded mad, now that he realized I was okay.

  "Sorry, I had my phone off. I forgot you were off or I would've called so we could do something yesterday."

  "We still have today. I can come pick you up," he said more calmly.

  "I can't today. A friend of ours came in from Savannah this morning and I want to spend some time with him before he leaves."

  "Who is it?" He almost sounded jealous, which was cute.r />
  "He's like a grandfather to me. I've known him all my life. We may come into town tonight and eat at the marina. Maybe you can join us." I figured Grandmama would like that idea.

  "Sure, just let me know." He was quiet for a few seconds. "I miss you."

  I loved his sweetness. "I miss you, too." And I did, now that I was talking to him…and Beau wasn't around.

  "From now on, leave your phone on," he laughed.

  "I will. I hate that I missed your texts." I did feel guilty. I had been so wrapped up in Beau that I didn't even remember I had a phone.

  "Me, too." We were quiet for a minute when he said, "Beth said to call her so y'all could hang out. I told her to get in line," he teased. "And after talking to Chad the other night, I think that line is going to get pretty long."

  "What are you talking about?" At first I had forgotten who Chad was, until I remembered meeting him and Hunter with Beth the night I had met Jace. It had just been a few weeks, but it seemed like a few months.

  "Chad was a little mad when he found out me and you had been going out. He's been over a lot here lately with Hunter."

  "It wouldn't matter even if we weren't dating. He's a jerk."

  Jace laughed, sounding relieved. "Yeah, a little arrogant, I'll have to agree. But it makes me dread when school starts. I'll have to take you and pick you up in my big, intimidating truck. Make sure everyone knows you’re taken."

  The thought of starting school in the fall made me nervous. "It doesn't matter if anyone else knows I'm taken or not, as long as I do."

  "Well said, well said," he agreed. "I guess I'll let you go so you can visit with your friend, but let me know if you all come into town."

  I actually looked forward to seeing him. "I will. I'll call you before we leave."

  "Okay. Talk to you later."

  "You, too. Bye, Jace."

  He said bye and I immediately called Beth, hoping to talk to her before everyone came back to the house. "Hey, girl! What's up?" She didn't even give me time to answer before she said, "Man, Jace is worried to death! Have you talked to him?"

  "Yes, just got off the phone with him. I had my phone off. I feel bad."

  "Well, don't. I think I may try that and make Hunter go crazy for a while. Sometimes boys need a little worry in their relationship to make 'em realize how important we are."

  Beth was so funny. "Well, he did seem worried until he realized I was okay, and then he was mad."

  "Jace? Mad? That's a first. I can't even get him riled up when I try to. He must really love you."

  Love? I didn't know how I felt about that yet. We continued to talk about Jace and Hunter until I saw Max heading back up toward the house. I told Beth I had to go and would call her later.

  I went back out onto the porch and brought the tea in and set it on the coffee table in the sunroom, where I'd also moved the ball to. This was my favorite room in the house. It was light, airy, and relaxing, so I thought this would be a good place to sit and talk with Max. I was anxious to see what he had to say about Beau.

  They finally came in and sat down, Beau sitting in front of me on the chaise. "Why don't you turn on the ball so you can hear what Beau says," I prompted Grandmama. When she turned it on, Beau sank down into the foot of the lounge chair, causing it to creak.

  He repositioned himself and leaned forward, obviously as anxious as I was. "So, why does this ball make me seem alive?" he asked Max. "As soon as it's turned on, I…feel. I couldn't feel this chair a second ago. Now I not only feel it," he stood up and lifted up the end of the chaise we were on, "but I can move it with no effort at all."

  Max took a sip of his tea and set it back down on the end table next to him. "I'm gonna try to explain a few things to you so that ya can understand. All of this is so complex that there's no need to inundate you by talking on some grandiose scale that no one can understand. So, we will begin with this," he said as he waved his hand toward the ball. "This is just an object that, in a sense, harnesses electricity." His face lit up and he stood up and said, "I'll be right back," and walked out of the room.

  We all sat there looking at each other quietly, wondering what he was doing, until he finally returned. He was holding something in his hand, which he turned on, making it light up. When the lights went out, he held it up to show us. It looked like a big TV remote. "This is a K-II meter. All it does is detect an EMF, which stands for electromagnetic field. I have several different kinds, but this is just a cheap basic one that I brought to show you." He walked around the room showing us how it worked. "See, anything that uses electricity puts off an EMF. Electricians can use these to find wires inside walls, even." He held the meter up to the lamp and the fan making the lights on his meter come on. Then he held it up to my plasma ball and all five lights lit up. "And your toy, here, puts out a lot of EMF." When he turned around and sat back down, his meter was still getting a reading.

  "But how does that affect Beau?" I asked, getting impatient.

  "That's where it gets complicated," Max replied, rubbing his mustache. "It's all about energy." He got up, turned the ball off, and then came toward Beau with the K-II. "May I?"

  Beau nodded, "Sure, whatever ya need to do."

  He stuck the meter inside Beau, and when he did, I could see that a few of the lights lit up through his back. "Paranormal Investigators use these to detect spirits…ghosts. Sometimes, when ya get an advanced spirit that's willin' to communicate, these can come in handy." He removed the meter from Beau's chest and turned it off, then reached down and turned the ball back on before returning to his seat.

  "That's remarkable," Grandmama said. "So, the electricity from the ball sorta boosts his energy?"

  "You could say that, yes. He gets a boost on a molecular level. I have a theory 'bout that." Then he turned his attention to Beau. "It's almost so complex that it's hard for me to put it into words, but I'm gonna try. When you converted, your body died, but not your spirit. It's like your body was your house, the house burns down, you're forced to move out—same principle."

  "Do ya know why I'm still here? Why didn't I move on?" Beau interrupted.

  Max looked at him for a minute before he continued. "I believe you still have time on your clock. Until your time has run out, you'll remain in this state."

  Beau shook his head, "I don't understand. My clock? How can I still have time when I've been dead over a hundred years?" It didn't make sense to me, either.

  "I believe we are all given a certain amount of time that we're supposed to live on this earth for; some may have 98 years, others may only have a few. If we lose our body before our time's up due to an accident, murder, suicide—he motioned toward Beau—"drowning, our spirit will remain here until that time has run its course." He sat forward, rubbing his mustache again. "When you jumped in that river, it wasn't your time to go. So your spirit is here, livin' out the rest of your time."

  It made me think of my dad. I doubt it was his time to go. Was he stuck at Ground Zero? I didn't want to think about that right now.

  Beau laughed, "But how do I live out the rest of my time when I'm dead?" I could tell he was getting frustrated.

  "You can move things, or touch people, even without this ball, right?" Max asked Beau.

  "Yeah, but I have to focus on it."

  "Exactly. When you focus, as ya call it, you are drawin' energy, yours and that which is around you, thus givin' ya an energy boost. This ball gives ya that without any effort at all. It's like pluggin' yourself up to an electrical outlet—you're energized. And in this state, your spirit manifests itself into your human form. It is in this state that your time continues to run. So, the times that you've manifested yourself, and when this ball is on, your molecular structure changes, makin' it possible for ya to run your clock out."

  "So, you're saying that right now his time is running out…just like mine is?" I asked, still not totally understanding.

  "Yes. In this state, his life's clock is running. Since he lost his body, however, it's
not a complete life. He'll never have that back. But it is possible to move on this way. You're not stuck here forever, Beau, just until your time's up."

  "Will he get older?" I asked, thinking of the possibilities.

  "This is a question I don't know the answer to. Like I said, it's so complex…on a metaphysical level. I'm sorry, but I don't have all the answers." Max looked disappointed in himself.

  "Let me get this straight. What you're sayin' is as long as this ball's on, or I manifest myself, that my spirit will…live, in a way, until my time's up and then I can move on?"

  "Pretty much, yes." Then he leaned back and took a sip of his tea before he added, "Or I can move ya on now."

  Beau's head jerked up and I leaned forward on my seat. "What?" I'm sure the shock of what he just said was evident on my face. "Right now?"

  "Well, if that's what he wanted, I can do that. It's more risky, but it's doable."

  "Risky? How?" Beau asked.

  "Well, it's a process. And I believe that with you it would be difficult because ya seem to possess an abundant amount of energy, probably carried over from when ya were alive. This is good for your spirit, especially if you want to stay, but not so good for crossin' ya over." He paused for a minute, still looking at Beau, and then added, "But it can be done. It's up to you."

  My heart sank and I tried not to cry at the thought of Beau leaving. Would he choose to go? He had been stuck here for over a hundred years, so the few weeks that we had spent together were just a drop in the bucket. I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to go.

  Beau didn't say anything, so Max said, "You can think 'bout it. I've got a couple days before I have to go, so we’ve got time. Don't make a rash decision just yet."

  Beau didn't say anything, just looked down and nodded.

  "Do ya know why he's stuck here? Why can't he go anywhere?" Grandmama asked.

  "From what I've found from years of study, spirits are bound to their conversion site, in this case, the river. I know of cases where spirits can't leave their house, even when it has been moved. Why this happens, I don't know, but it does. In some cases, spirits have manifested and left their conversion sites, but when their energy level declines, they end up dissolving back to their spiritual state and appear back at their conversion site."