by Paige Watson
“You wouldn’t believe me, even if I did tell you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the dreams you’ve been having aren’t really dreams.”
“Oh really?” I replied, in my most sarcastic tone. “And what are they exactly?”
“Memories.”
His confession hit me like a ton of bricks. “No, that’s impossible. How can I be having the memories of someone that was living almost six centuries ago?”
“Because you aren’t seeing someone else’s memories, you are seeing your own memories.”
My knees buckled underneath my weight and I fell over the swing, on top of Conrad. We both tumbled to the ground, and I landed on top of him.
“M—my memories?”
“Are you ok?” His hands were on either side of my face, and his eyes were flooded with concern.
“How can they be my memories? And how are you in them?”
“They’re your memories, because you were there when everything happened, and I was too.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, feeling my eyes moistening. I wanted to run away from him, to release myself of his touch, but his eyes held me glued to the spot. He reached forward to brush a strand of hair off my face, letting his fingers trail along my skin.
“Do you trust me?”
“I don’t even know you.”
“That doesn’t matter. Do you trust me?”
“I guess so,” I answered reluctantly.
He rolled us over in the dirt, landing on top of me. “Well, then trust me when I say I want to tell you everything, and I will, but I can’t just yet.”
“What do you mean you can’t?
“I mean exactly that, it’s not time for me to explain everything to you, but it will be soon.”
“But—”
“Evey, trust me.” He leaned forward, softly pressing his lips to my forehead. Despite conventional thinking, I knew what he was telling me had some truth to it. My dreams had always seemed so real to me. Thinking they were memories actually made more sense to me, than believing I had been plagued with bizarre nightmares. I’d been having the dreams since I was six years old. What child dreams of mangled bodies, faceless executioners, and burning corpses?
“Ok, but I have one more question.”
“What’s that?”
I raised my hand to his face and gently traced the outline of his lips with my fingers. “So we know each other? I mean we knew each other before we met yesterday?”
He placed his warm hand on top of mine and turned his head to kiss my palm. “What do you think?” Something in the devious look he gave me, told me I already knew the answer to my question. “Come on, let’s get you home.” He pulled me up from the ground and we made our way back to his car.
“So Claire is having a party at her house tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me.”
“I don’t think Claire invited you to her party with the purpose of you bringing a date.”
“Well, who cares what she thinks? I want you to go with me.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“That depends,” he said, with a mischievous tone.
“On what?”
“On whether or not your answer is yes.”
“What do you think my answer is?”
“I guess I’ll pick you up at eight,” he said with a grin. I gave him directions to my house and it wasn’t long till we were pulling up the familiar gravel driveway. He opened the car door for me again and walked me to the front door.
“You know, I’m putting a lot of faith in you, trusting that you aren’t lying to me and that you will eventually explain all of this. Please don’t let me down.” I looked down at my white sneakers, unable to meet his eyes.
“You say that as if you expect me to.”
I shrugged off his jacket, handing it back to him. “Thanks for letting me wear your jacket. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, My Lady,” he smiled. “And I would never let you down.”
I shook my head at him and stepped inside the house, locking the front door behind me. What a day it had been. One minute, my biggest concern seemed to be what I should wear to school tomorrow, and now I was wearing the necklace of a queen who had been dead for over 500 years. However, according to Conrad, it was technically my necklace. Was he trying to insinuate that I was Isabella I of Castile, at one point in time? It figures the one guy who actually showed any sign of interest in me would turn out to be clinically insane. Although, there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn’t crazy or
lying. And why couldn’t he tell me what was going on? The more answers I got out of him, the more questions I seemed to have.
My thoughts were interrupted as I ran into my mother in the kitchen.
“Hey, your father and I thought you were going to call us to come pick you up.”
“Oh, I ended up catching a ride with a friend from school.” My mother narrowed her eyebrows. She knew all too well Caroline was pretty much my only friend.
“So who is this friend exactly?”
“His name is Conrad. He is a new student in my history class,” I said, pouring myself a glass of milk.
“I see. And does this boy happen to have any particular interests in you?”
“He’s just trying to make friends.” The look on her face told me that she didn’t believe a single word I had just said. “Ok, so he asked me on a date tomorrow too.”
The stern look on her face was replaced with a soft smile. “So, just how important is this date?”
“Pretty important,” I replied. “Caroline would think it was a huge deal. All the girls in the school want to get to know him.” I took a gulp of milk, letting the cool beverage coat my dry throat.
“Well it’s getting late,” she said, giving me a kiss and ushering me off toward my room. “Evey?”
I turned around so I could look at her. “Yeah?”
“Just be sure to bring him by to meet your father and me before the two of you go on your date.”
“I will,” I smiled.
That night, when I slept, I had the same dream again. Only this time I could see everything more clearly; the gnarled scar that spread from the upper lip to all the way past the chin of the executioner, the dark eyes of the king glowing in the shadows, and the desperation with which I tried to save Conrad. As I scrambled toward where Conrad was kneeling, I saw he was trying to reach out to me too. His fingers almost touched mine but the hands that restrained me, prevented it. Our eyes locked onto one another. “I’m so sorry, please forgive me,” I said to him.
“It’s not your fault,” he replied. He said something else, but I couldn’t make out what he was trying to say. Then the executioner’s axe came down on him.
I rolled over in bed to see what time it was. I groaned, seeing it was only three. I picked up my cell phone and saw I had a missed call from Caroline. I decided to send her a quick text. Sorry I didn’t call you last night. I have a lot of stuff to tell you, see you in the morning! Then, I burrowed myself down into the covers and was finally able to have a few hours of restful, dream free, sleep.
I slapped the buzzer on my alarm clock, silencing it, and headed into my bathroom to take a shower. It was Friday morning, and excitement bubbled in my stomach as I remembered I had a date with Conrad tonight. I allowed the hot water of the shower to flow over me, erasing any negative feelings that remained from my dreams. I dried and curled my hair and applied a couple coats of mascara to my long eyelashes. Then I brushed my teeth, before heading to my room to change. I grabbed a white skirt with red and yellow roses from my closet, and pulled it on over my legs. A hunter green tank top and soft yellow cardigan completed my look. Grabbing my leather bag, I took off down the hall, sliding into the kitchen.
“Whoa. You seem like you’re in a hurry today,” my father said as I almost collided into him.
“Oh, sorry daddy.”
He laughed at me, his expr
ession softening. “That’s ok. Ready for the weekend?”
“You have no idea.”
My mom was waiting for us both at the stove. “What kind of eggs do y’all want this morning?”
“Fried,” I answered, pouring myself a cup of coffee. I added a fair amount of milk and sugar before sitting down at the table.
“I’ll have scrambled,” my father said, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her cheek.
“Evey has a date tonight,” my mother replied, looking at my father.
“Is that right?” He looked at me with raised eyebrows.
I choked on my sip of coffee, and wiped away the brown beads that were running down my chin.
“Yes, it is.”
“Well what is this boy’s name?”
“His name is Conrad Bourdet. He just moved here from Los Angeles, his uncle died recently.”
“Oh that’s got to be Jim Bourdet’s nephew,” my mother replied, sliding two eggs onto my plate.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Jim brought a couple of his antiques into the store to get appraised, before drawing up his will. I always liked Jim. He was a good man and had quite an assortment of collectibles.” My father leaned back from the table, as my mother placed his breakfast in front of him.
“Conrad is a little old fashioned. He always opens doors, and last night he carried my bag when he dropped me off at the house.”
“That’s good,” he answered. “Just be sure to bring him in, when he comes to pick you up.”
“I will,” I said, smiling at him.
I finished my breakfast with a few minutes to spare before Caroline arrived, and I washed my dishes in the sink. I looked out the window and saw the sun shining brightly over the neighbor’s yard. Just as I finished my parents’ dishes, I heard a honk.
“Caroline’s here. I’ll see you tonight,” I called to my parents.
“Ok have a good day,” my father replied.
“We love you.”
“I love you too,” I said to my mother, pecking her on the cheek before running out the door.
I ran to the passenger side of the car and jumped in the front seat, fastening my seatbelt.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Caroline said, looking at me over her sunglasses.
“I know and you’ll never guess what happened!”
“Oooh! What?”
“I have a date with Conrad tonight.”
“Seriously?!”
“Yeah, he’s picking me up at eight, and we’re going to Claire’s party!” I beamed at her, unable to keep my excitement under control.
“Oh that’s awesome! Wait, what are you going to wear?”
I knew this question was coming. Anytime anything remotely exciting happened in our lives, Caroline always had to be sure that we dressed for the occasion.
“I was thinking the maroon halter top dress I got last spring. Do you know which one I’m talking about?”
“Yeah, it’s got a flared out skirt right?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Oh, that will look good with your hair—and your necklace.”
Instinctively my hand enclosed around the pendant, I had almost forgotten I had it on. Maybe Conrad would tell me more about it tonight on our date, or at least I was hoping that he would.
It might sound horrible, but I didn’t take a single note during my first class of the day. I kept replaying the conversation I had with Conrad in the park, over and over again, in my mind. Thinking about the feel of his lips, against my forehead and palm, made my whole body tingle. My focus didn’t improve when Caroline and I were in Biology. She had to repeat her question four times, before I even noticed that she was talking to me.
“So, are you excited about tonight?”
“Huh?”
“I said, are you excited about tonight? Wow, you are really distracted today.”
“Oh sorry, I was thinking about when Conrad and I went to the park last night.”
“Oh? What happened?”
“Nothing much; we just talked.”
“Uh huh.” She gave me a disbelieving look.
“Oh shut up. It’s true!”
“Ok, ok. I believe you.”
“Are you going to the party tonight too?” I slid the microscope over to her, so she could look through the lens. Mickey and Kit had given us both the night off, since it was the first Friday night of the school year.
“I can’t. My cousin’s birthday dinner is tonight. My parents and I are going to Murfreesboro to eat at some restaurant up there.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That kind of sucks.”
“Tell me about it! I wanted to go to the party so I could watch you on your date.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll call you and give you every detail after it’s over.”
“You better not leave anything out either! I want full kissing and groping descriptions, with lots and lots of adjectives.”
I laughed at her, shaking my head. “Your wish is my command.”
“Good!”
When it was time for third period to start, I felt my heart quicken its pace by a few beats. I tried to put on my calmest disposition before Caroline and I took our regular seats. Conrad was already in his seat when we got there, and he smiled at me as I sat down.
“Hey.” I could see him looking me over, taking in the features of my face.
“Hey,” I said, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
“So, are we still on for tonight?”
“Yeah, you’re not trying to cancel on me are you?”
“Wouldn’t think of it,” he replied. Claire put her hand on his shoulder, turning him away from me while whispering in his ear. “Oh yeah, I’ll be there.” I could hear his answer, even though I couldn’t make out what she had asked him. “And Evey will be there too, I asked her to come with me.” Claire’s face reddened as she shot me a glare. Conrad, it seemed, didn’t notice, because he flashed me another smile before Mr. Rieder walked in and started class. Immediately, I pulled out my book and turned to the page with my necklace on it. I studied the image again and again. There were no differences between the two necklaces. I looked up from the book and saw Conrad staring at me. He nodded his head, and I knew he wanted to answer all the questions I had.
I didn’t get to talk to him after class though, because Mr. Rieder let us out later than usual and we only had a minute to run to our fourth period classes before the tardy bell rang.
Physics class passed in a blur. I only heard snippets of his lecture, something was said about joules, and Newton was referenced a couple times. However, none of what was said embedded itself in my brain. Mr. Liner asked me several questions, but I was so preoccupied thinking about the date I was going on tonight, I didn’t answer a single one.
“You’re out of it today. You didn’t even answer a single question in Physics, and you always answer them,” Caroline said, as we climbed into her car.
“I just can’t help it. I keep thinking about tonight.”
“I can’t say I blame you,” she laughed. “Although, you might want to watch out for Claire at the party tonight because she was throwing some pretty nasty looks your way during history class.”
“Yeah, I caught one or two of them. I don’t know why he would ask me out and not Claire. I mean, she is the most popular girl in school.”
“I know why; she’s completely stuck up and you aren’t. Plus you’re super nice, gorgeous, and smart, that’s a pretty lethal combination if you ask me.”
I shook my head at her and laughed. “Thanks.”
“Hey, what are best friends for?”
She pulled into the parking lot of my parent’s auction house. Rhodes’ Auction House was in an old, two-story, white house just off North Jackson Street. My parents opened it right before I was born and had been running it together ever since. The entire inside of the house was gutted, to create an open floor plan that was ideal for a show room. The upstairs was turned into of
fice space, and the downstairs housed all the antiques. Every inch of wall space was occupied by paintings and mirrors hanging in expensive gilded frames.
“Call me later and let me know how your date goes!”
“I will! Have fun tonight in Murfreesboro.”
“I’ll try my best. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a wink.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave a single adjective out,” I replied, teasing her.
“Can’t wait. Love ya!”
“Love ya!” I waved goodbye to her as I stepped through the door of the auction house.
“Hey mom, hey dad,” I called out.
“Hey,” my mom said, walking around the corner to the entryway.
“Where’s dad?”
“Oh, he’s upstairs in the office, balancing the books.”
“Oh, ok.”
“How was school?”
“It was good, I was just ready for it to be over though. I’m glad it’s the weekend.”
“Are you and Caroline working tomorrow?”
“Yeah, Kit asked us to come in and work from 11:00-9:00.”
“That’s good. I think I’m going to talk your dad into helping me paint the kitchen tomorrow.”
“Good luck with that,” I grinned.
Before she could say anything else, a customer came in, drawing her to the other side of the showroom. I walked around the room, admiring the delicate vases and tables that were scattered about, before stopping in front of my favorite piece in the whole house. It was a small painting hung next to the window on the back wall. The painting depicted a young girl lying in a field of red poppies. The soft glow of the sun shone off the girl’s golden hair, and the flowers looked as if they were dancing in the wind. When I was little, I always liked to pretend I was the little girl. I would imagine myself in the white dress that seemed to jump out against the reds and greens of the flowers. I couldn’t think of anything better than a bed made of poppies, smelling their sweet perfume as I drifted off to sleep.
I could hear footsteps behind me on the aged wooden floors, and I turned to see my mother approaching.