by Naomi Niles
“Forget the door. I want to find pagers. Those are popular, aren’t they?” Elsa babbled as she walked to the front door of the store and almost managed to open that before I managed to beat her to it. The customers that were behind us exchanged long looks as well as some snickers, and I joined in a little as she looked at me over her shoulder. “What?”
“I think those have been obsolete for at least a few years,” I explained as she looked around. I was kind since it had been several years since I tried even to deal with one of those stupid devices. It was fun until someone paged you in your car and you needed to take the time to find a pay phone to call them in time for them not to be angry with you. If I ever took more than ten minutes, my friends would act like I made them wait an hour. She nodded and started searching the shelves, showing interest in something as simple as an alarm clock that matched the one I’d had in elementary school. Elsa moved on to the Blue-ray players and asked me what they did as I laughingly explained television to the VCR to the DVD player. I also got to explain cable television which made her stare at me in shock as I pointed out all of the things you could watch on display in the store.
“I want to watch something,” she said in a tone of awe before she looked around the store again. “What’s this?” She stepped over to the display of tablets and touched the screen as it changed before her eyes, and I laughed again as she jumped back a step. “It moves.”
“It’s called a touch screen. It responds to your finger, and it’s like a computer, but you don’t get those either.” I realized as she stared at me for a moment. She looked so out of her element and sexy as she gave me a determined look and I took a breath and glanced around. “Okay, so I think a good idea for you would be a phone. Like mine.” I slipped it out of my pocket and held it up as she frowned at it in speculation. “It’s like a little computer, and you can listen to music, watch the movies you want to see, make calls…you’ll like it.” She looked at me again, and I guided her towards a large display. “Okay here. They have ones that are prepaid until you run out of minutes or data. It’s perfect.” The worker stepped up to the display to offer us help as he took in Elsa with a knowing smile. I wondered if they came here a lot right out of the house as I noticed the beauty that she possessed with my long stare at her profile.
“Can I help you?” His voice was friendly as he looked at both of us and I paused for a moment.
“I want one of these,” Elsa told him as he grinned and nodded.
“What features are you looking for?” He asked her next as she flushed and shuffled her feet.
“She’s a little new to all of this, so I think that we’ll take something that offers her what a smartphone can without all of the bells and whistles.” I stepped in, and the young man looked at me as she wilted next to me. “I would like a prepaid plan with as many minutes and data as you can offer us as well.”
Elsa stood closer with interest as the man went through a few options and took the time to show here everything as well as me. Her eyes lit up as she saw that she could take pictures and video, and I heard her grunt when he showed her the games that came with the models.
It amused me that the rest of the store was standing in various parts of the room and watching us as well. Elsa’s innocence was fetching to all of them, and I think I saw a hint of jealousy in most everybody’s eyes. Hell, I was a little jealous of how she saw the world like a child would. I just hoped that it wouldn’t leave her in a crumpled pile as it had me.
After seeing a few different models, Elsa asked for an Android, and he nodded. I had an IPhone myself, but I was familiar enough with both models that I could assist her along the way. I was impressed when the guy offered her an upgrade to a better model and included enough of what I’d asked for to get her by for a while as well at a good deal. Sometimes human nature surprised me, and I took the box that he offered and went to the register to pay for it.
“I was going to buy that,” Elsa told me as I handed the girl behind the counter a few bills. “I saved for this.”
“You’ll use it to get something else. The world is yours right now, Elsa.” I told her as her eyes softened and she nodded slowly. I knew that I had a charger in the car, and I planned on plugging this right in and getting her started.
We walked back out to the car as I took a deep breath from the experience that I had just witnessed. She held onto her bag and looked around the town as we made our way slowly to the car. “It looks different this way.”
“I love how you see things. It’s refreshing,” I assured Elsa as our eyes met and locked for a moment. “I’ll plug that in the car, and you can use it soon.”
To my surprise, as soon as we opened the box and plugged it in, there was a small amount of charge. I guided her on how to access her phone screen and gave her my number as she punched it in with a focused expression. “Hit the phone symbol and hold it to your ear.” She did, and the Seethe song that I used for my ring tone blared through the car as she jumped. “Hey, gorgeous,” I answered my phone, and her squeal filled my ears, and I laughed again as I pulled it away from my ear.
“I can hear you,” she told me as I nodded and slowly brought the phone back to my ear. “I love your voice on this.”
“You sound pretty good yourself,” I told her as she smiled and looked at me. There was a light in her voice that I hadn’t heard before, and I stared into her face. I knew that I was in trouble as I looked at her and asked her what she wanted to do next.
CHAPTER 7
Elsa
I listened to his voice over the tiny little box in my hand and stared into his eyes. “I want to get some coffee somewhere nice. Somewhere away from here that has a lot of activity and a fancy couch to sit on.” I was tired of our simple furniture, and I wanted to have something that was so soft that I could fall asleep in it. “I want dessert!” I pulled the phone away from my ear and watched as the screen came back on before I smiled and hit the red button. Ending the call made me a little sad, and I tucked the phone on the seat next to me before I remembered that I was still wearing my apron. I leaned forward and untied it before I held the familiar cloth in my hand and then tossed it into the back seat. I felt naked in only my dress even though it covered my body everywhere and I shivered under his gaze. “What else can I do with this?”
Aidan reminded me to buckle my seat belt again as he picked up his phone and handed it to me. “This is streaming radio. Play around with it.” It was magical the way the music played over the car speakers, and I took a minute to figure out how it worked and finally change the old time music that he’d started to play for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it because it was breathtaking. I just wanted to hear everything that I could hear in what felt like a short time when it could end up being forever for me.
I asked him what he liked to listen to, and he stopped at a light and chose something on the screen. “This is called my thumbprint station. It’s songs I’ve liked and stuff that is similar.” I took the phone back as he drove and looked around at the scenery as some hard notes kicked in that jolted me a bit in my seat.
I had always lived a soft life with quiet talk and calm surroundings. Sure, the Amish had a few news stories out there but for the most part, nothing happened in our world. Everything remained the same, and I was feeling edgy as the hoarse voice of a man started singing slowly as I watched the green fields from the road that we were on. I had no idea where I was, but I didn’t care. I felt safe with Aidan, and I knew that he’d keep his word to Daddy as I gave him a slower look across the seat. His jacket was off, and I could see more of the burned skin of his arm as he drove as well as the way it twitched now and then. I sensed that bothered him, but that Aidan wasn’t the kind of man to complain too much about any one thing. He’d clearly been through a lot even with what little he’d told me and I wondered what more was under the surface. The songs told me a lot as well as it switched to a softer tune with a woman singing about loss and I looked through the windshield as I le
t my thoughts drift. What had Aidan lost? I didn’t know just how old he was, but I assumed just a few years older than me. He was good-looking and youthful even with his guarded eyes and his scarred skin and I knew that he could never want to be with a girl like me. He was just kind, and Aidan probably flirted with every woman that he met.
He might even not have meant what he said back at the store about staying with him. He seemed to have a plan in mind, and I worried that I’d gotten in the way of anything that he wanted to do.
We drove through the rolling hills, and I smiled at the ponds and creeks that we sped past in the loud car. It was beautiful out here, and a part of me missed the farm. I wondered how the new baby lamb was doing for a moment before I pushed the thought away. This was my time.
We drove over a beautiful bridge that took us over a creek that still had a good current despite the warming sun. Aidan kept driving, and we only talked about the song that was playing on the speakers or something we both noticed out of the window, but it was all so comfortable to me. I’d accepted that he didn’t want me as more than a friend or perhaps a project, so I wasn’t able to see a reason for any discomfort.
I noticed a city ahead of us that seemed to include a lot of park areas, and I leaned forward to see as he kept driving. “Gettysburg. It’s the sight of a famous war, and I thought that you might enjoy visiting,” Aidan told me as I took it all in with a smile. “People say they see ghosts here sometimes, you know. Many men died here.” I heard his voice crack for a fleeting moment, and I took my eyes away from the road to look at his face as he let it slide back into a smile. “There’s a famous hotel in the city that I think you’ll like.”
I kept my eyes locked on his face for any trace of what I’d heard before, but there was nothing but his charming smile and his always easy on the eyes body that distracted me before I forced myself to face forward again. We parked amongst the buildings at an enormous white square of a building with a beautiful porch. I could tell that it was very old but in good condition, as Aidan parked and walked around to open my door.
There were many people around us as Aidan guided me to the steps and into the front room of the hotel. It was huge with beautiful wooden floors and a large desk where guests seemed to be checking in. Families filled the room, and I watched as the kids played and climbed on the beautiful furniture that filled this vast space. My house would fit in here with plenty of room to spare.
Aidan walked me to an entrance where I found a beautiful restaurant that had a bar area as well as tables and booths. A pretty brunette seated us at a booth in the corner, and I slid into the soft leather across from Aidan as he held out a menu to me. “Order anything you’d like,” he told me as I smiled and lost myself in his eyes for a moment.
I stared at the menu as I read every meal they had offered before I selected a chocolate coffee called a cafe mocha and Aidan added a black coffee with a assorted pastry tray for us to share. We’d already eaten, but I needed to taste something in this room, something that would forever remind me of him once this time in my life was over. I had told him that I wanted to go to a bar, but Aidan had laughed at me before he reminded me that it was still morning, and that could wait until the afternoon, at least.
After we’d ordered, I shifted in my seat and realized that I had to use the bathroom. I politely excused myself and walked back out into the overwhelming lobby as I followed the signs to find a women’s restroom. I pushed the door open once I found it and the room before you even went inside to the main part was huge and set up like a fancy living room. Women were sitting to talk, and some were feeding their babies without a blanket as I flushed a dark pink and hurried into a stall.
This was a lot different than our simple room at home, and I jumped as the toilet flushed just when I stood up. I stared at it as I wondered how that worked before I saw a little circle on the front of it. I pressed it, and the water went down again as I shook my head. I left the large space and went to wash my hands at the long counter with the fancy soap and shiny knobs before I dried my hands at a place that offered you towels to dry them with. I watched as others did the same and threw it into the bin just like the other women before I left the bathroom.
I noticed a shop on the way back to the restaurant, and I ducked inside as I looked around. Aidan couldn’t stop me from buying anything now, and I paused in front of a few things before I found a rack of shirts.
There was a pretty blue one that boasted a picture of this very hotel all lit up at night, and I looked at the sizes with a frown. “Can I help you?” A girl asked me as I jumped and smiled at her.
“I want one of these, but I’ve no idea what my size is.” We made our clothes from patterns and the letters S, M, and L meant nothing to me.
“You’re a tiny little thing. Let’s see how this looks.” The girl had bright red hair, and she held it up one of the shirts against me as she eyed my dress with a soft smile. “A small is perfect.” She nodded at me. “Try it on!”
It fit with a little room to spare, and I paid her with my cash before I walked back to the table. I thought that I might look silly with my sleeves peeking out from under the soft blue material but I didn’t care as my steps picked up and I hurried back to Aidan with a smile. “Do you like my shirt?” I asked him as he caught my face with worried eyes the moment I walked into the room. I spun around on my slip on shoes, and he stared at me as I finished the turn and bowed lightly to him. His eyes were intense as he let them trace over me and I sat down as I started to feel dizzy.
Aidan looked at me like he wanted to eat me up and I knew that I felt the same way about him. “I love that on you. I thought you got lost.”
I started to tell him about the bathroom and the living room in there as he chuckled and sipped his hot drink. “You’re adorable, Elsa.” Aidan didn’t talk down to me or belittle me when he did any of this. It made me feel good inside, and I brightened when the lovely platter of treats was set down in front of me. I’d only stopped talking long enough to sip my hot sweet coffee and gush over it before I had something new to try.
The pastries were delicious and crumbled under my fork as I cut into them. We both ate hungrily despite our previous meal, though I hadn’t eaten too much at all when I thought about it. “I hope this is appropriate for breakfast. I hardly touched my food earlier.” I felt bad like I had when I was a little girl reaching for a cookie before I had my main meal.
“Order breakfast if you want to. This is your day, Elsa. Are you hungry?” Aidan asked me as I giggled and nodded. Now, I was starving.
I ended up ordering eggs loaded with fresh vegetables and meats as well and shared it with him as we talked about the other patrons inside that were enjoying their breakfast. “How are you even hungry? You ate my food before.”
“I’m a growing boy.” Aidan teased me as I smiled and took another bite. I’d made something like this a million times before but it tasted different here, and the sweet butter on the pastries was one of the best things that I had ever tasted.
We laughed and chatted easily as we finished eating, only making me feel more comfortable with him.
CHAPTER 8
Aidan
We left the hotel full and with Elsa very animated from the three coffees that she’d enjoyed. She apparently had never experienced that much caffeine before and was feeling quite energetic. She continued to insist on drinking, which I knew was a vital part of this time in her life, but I also reminded her that it was still early in the morning. I thought about the stores that were nearby, and I got her to the car before I started to drive towards them. “I want to get you some fresh clothes,” I told her as she glanced up from her phone with a wary look in her eyes.
“You already bought me this,” she held it up, and I smiled as I stared at her. Joe hadn’t only left me his car, but he’d also given me all of his money. Joe had been in the foster system for years and joined the Army when he turned eighteen and left, which left him no family. He was smart with his earning
s and it allowed me to spoil this woman and give her a little fun as she decided on the rest of her life. I already knew where mine was going, and I wouldn’t need the money.
“I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just want you to have a few more things than your shirt for this adventure.” I told her as she frowned and then smiled at me.
“What kind of stores?” I seated the engine and followed the directions to the outlet stores as she looked over all of the buildings.
“These are outlet stores, though I’d love to take you to a big mall sometime. You’d love the variety, but this is a little of the same thing in a single story. You’ll find what you need here, and we can see the sights later when we’re done.” I looked at the clock on the custom stereo and counted in my head. “We have about half an hour before they open at ten. Want to just relax here for a while?”
Elsa seemed somber as she nodded and settled back in the seat. “Do you have a chosen religion, Aidan?”
“Not particularly,” I responded as she gave me a shy look and looked out of the window.
“I was born Amish, raised that way. It’s all I know, and I love it, but I started to feel a little restless as I got older. It seemed like I was missing out and now I’m here. I am having the best time of my entire life.” Her voice was soft, and I smiled at her as she looked to me for some answer. “Is that wrong?”
“I can’t tell you what’s wrong or right, Elsa.” She looked so vulnerable and soft right now, and I longed to fix everything that was wrong in her head right now.
“I lost a lot of my faith after the war over a year ago. I’d berm raised Christian by my parents and Mom still believes even after losing my father to active military duty. He died honorably, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around that for a long time. I joined, and I loved the action and the life, but I saw too much when I was there to have any belief system any longer.” That was the most I’d said to anyone in my life and I knew that I was still hiding a lot. I had to.