Dani/Evie replied, “It was in one of my coat pockets. I didn’t even know I had one. Jody, show it to her.”
All of a sudden, the screen was bright. There on the screen was a good-looking, middle-aged woman with curly light brown hair streaked with gray. Coming around the side of her was the huge, red-haired man, Jody. The smartphone was being turned around so Leah and James were getting a jumbled view of the room, but not on purpose—the phone was being examined by Sarah. “Well, I’ll be. They sure got small, didn’t they? Too bad there aren’t any signals, you could… Oh, sorry.”
Dani/Evie’s face was on the screen and she looked sad. “Sarah, cell phones do more than just make phone calls. Like I was telling Jody, you can type notes to people—they call it texting—and they get the message immediately. You can also record and play music, take pictures and look at them right away, even make movies with that little thing in your hand. It has a bunch of different types of calculators and language translators in it, and a radio—which wouldn’t work here and now, of course, since there aren’t any radio signals. Neither would the phone...”
The image on the screen was moving all around again. It was obvious that it was in stealth mode and no one knew that the record button had been pushed. Suddenly, the image of Jody filled the screen, but it was Dani/Evie who was speaking. “It’s real scary how fast technology is moving—or rather will move. It’s all so quick and disposable in my time, my former time. Sarah, I don’t want to go back!”
The screen turned toward Dani/Evie again as she came closer to the camera and continued speaking. “Good grief, I don’t even know how I got here, so how ‘could’ I go back? And, as I was telling Jody, I don’t want to know about the old me—who I was—before all ‘this’ happened,” she gestured to the room around her. “I’m fine just as I am,” she said with pride and sadness at the same time.
“Hey,” she said with shock. The image zig-zagged all around the room again. “When did this happen? When did the light go from green to red?” The image stabilized on Jody’s face.
He spoke carefully, “I first noticed it when I tried to give it to ye when ye were sittin’ at the table. Why? Is there somethin’ wrong?” The image became a close up of a fearful Jody as he grabbed the phone.
“No, not wrong,” said Dani/Evie. Her face came in close, then the edge of her hand appeared, and the little documentary was over.
“She turned off the smartphone. She didn’t know it was recording, and as soon as she saw that it was, she turned it off. I’m not crazy, that woman really was my mother, and she really is younger than me?” Leah said, ending her stoic explanation with a squeak of uncertainty.
James took the phone from her and powered it off. “Hey, you,” he said, and turned to face her. He put his hand on her cheek and made sure she was looking into his eyes before he spoke. “You’re the one who just told me about mysteries. ‘There are mysteries to be solved and mysteries to be accepted,’ you said. And wisdom is knowing which is which. I don’t think anyone can explain how your mother got younger. Maybe there is something to witchcraft and magic. No, just magic. I don’t believe your mother could ever be involved with witchcraft. Now, we accept that she came back to you yesterday as a younger person, okay?”
Leah sniffed and nodded, glad that she had someone to offer her clarity.
“Now, we know—or think we know—that it’s possible to go back to the 18th century. She said 1781. She was here last year, traveled into the past somehow or other, ten months ago; came back here two days ago, and then went back there, to 1781, I hope, yesterday.”
Leah responded thoughtfully, “Yes, she went back to 1781, for sure.” She saw the puzzled look on his face. “For sure, because she wrote the letters, see?”
James rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and moved the letters and the smartphones to the bedside table. He turned sideways, pulled the pillows away from the headboard, fluffed one, then put the other to the side of him. He scooted down, then lay his head on the pillow, turning to face Leah. “That’s it. I’m spent. I started on this trip yesterday, and haven’t slept in 36 hours, at least. I’m not trying to be rude, but I don’t…don’t think I could…could…say anything rational so, so…” James’s eyes fluttered as he spoke, and then closed as he fell asleep in mid-sentence.
Leah went through the same motions of pillow fluffing, scooting, and lying down, then faced her new friend. “It’s been a rough 36 hours for me, too. Thanks for being my white knight, Lord James Melbourne. I sure wish you weren’t a fairy.” She put her hand an inch above his lightly bearded cheek and traced the air above the strong jaw line. “Otherwise you’d be perfect.” She pulled back her hand, tucked it into her chest next to her other hand, and fell into a deep sleep.
*12 New Roommates
August 6, 2013, 5:15 AM
Leah awoke at 5:15 a.m. and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t want to get up and face the day, much less the world, but her body had been waking at this same hour, except in the instance of extreme hangovers, for five years. There was no chance of a hangover from yesterday, though, that was for sure. She had drunk alcohol twice and puked it up both times. True, she was either drugged or severely stressed in both instances, but maybe it was time to quit using the chemical numbing agents. At least now she knew what happened to her mother, and whether it was a rational explanation or not, it made her feel better.
Snort, rumble, and loud exhale…what? Leah turned over and saw the very handsome man lying next to her. She smiled with recollection of the day before. He was so nice, kind, and had a sharp wit. She remembered thinking that he was practically perfect. She saw his mouth hanging lax, the tongue hanging to the side a little. Okay, slight flaw; nobody sleeps with his mouth closed all the time. And then there was that other imperfection. Her eyes glanced down and saw what most men had first thing in the morning. Well, he made a decent pup tent, but he might as well be a eunuch. Why did he have to be gay?
Bzzz, Bzzz. The noise startled Leah. She realized what it was, jumped up, and reached across James to grab her smartphone. The alarm was always set ‘just in case’ she didn’t wake up in time for work. With all of the excitement last night, she had forgotten to deactivate it. If she could shut it off in time, the loud cyber-rooster-crowing MP3 file wouldn’t play and wake James. Oops, too late—the pre-alarm vibration alone had been enough to rouse him. His eyes were still shut, but now his mouth was, too. He was faking it. “I get the bathroom first,” she sang, as she bounded out of bed.
James rolled over just in time to see her grab the bottom of her shirt and pull it down over her butt cheeks. He rolled back over onto his back and started chuckling. He knew she thought that he was gay. She was treating him like a person, not as a jerk who was after her body, or a piece of man meat to be used to get her own jollies. Well, he would neither confirm nor deny his sexual orientation, and hopefully she wouldn’t ask. He liked her too much to lose her.
Leah came out of the bathroom right away. “Well, that was quick,” she said. “It’s amazing how fast you can get ready in the morning if you don’t have a toothbrush, comb, clothes or, or…”
She looked over at James—he wasn’t leering, but his relaxed smile was unsettling. ‘Could he be straight?’ she thought. He wasn’t being rude in any way, it was just that he was letting her babble which, now that she thought about it, must be a generalized male thing, not a tolerant, straight boyfriend thing.
“Well, then it looks like I won’t have to fight for counter space, either,” James said. “If you’re done in there…” He turned away from her to get out of bed, put his feet on the floor, and looked down to see his happy male member playing peek-a-boo out of the fly in his shorts. He shoved it back in and stood up, looking behind him to see if he could make a discreet entrance into the bathroom.
Leah was standing in front of the chair, turning her bathing suit right side out. He edged around the bed and saw her trying to hide a smirk. Right, she had awakened before he had, and
had seen what he was now trying to hide in his skivvies. Oh, well, it just proved that he was a healthy human male. Just what type of male he truly was would have to remain a secret, at least for a while.
James grabbed his bag on the way into the bathroom. A shower was in order. He didn’t stink from all of the sweating the day before—the swim in the pool had taken care of that—but he still felt polluted.
The water temperature was just right, the pressure more than he was used to, the soap extra slippery, and well, he couldn’t help but do himself a favor. She’d never know, and he might be more relaxed as a result. And heaven knew, he needed every helping hand he could get. He snorted a short laugh at his own pun. Maybe he wouldn’t have to be his own best friend after the two of them got all this sorted out. He could only hope.
The long, sudsy shower took care of all his discomforts. “What time is it?” he asked as he came out of the bathroom, his Rolex in his hand.
Leah smiled at the screen on her smartphone. “It’s 5:55, make a wish,” she said brightly. She saw his confusion and explained. “It’s a kid thing that I never grew out of. Every hour has one of them, you know: 1:11, 2:22, and so on? You’re supposed to make a wish when you see all the same digits on the time display.”
“Do I have to say the wish out loud?” he said before thinking. Duh! He knew what he had just been wishing, but he certainly wasn’t going to share that…at least not yet.
“I wish we could—‘I’ could—be with my mother again,” Leah said, her voice squeaking with mock bravery.
“‘We could’ is good for me, too,” he said, and gave her a one-armed hug. “There, I got the time set and here, try these on.” James handed her a pair of his custom torn jeans and a pale blue Oxford shirt with long sleeves. “And I got some sandals for you from the store yesterday. I forgot, did I show them to you already or…”
“Yeah, well yesterday was a little exciting, and yes, you did—they fit fine. Hey, is that a real Rolex?”
“Yes,” he said, waiting for the punchline he felt was sure to follow.
“Sweet,” she grinned, “looks just like the clones. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom.
And right back she was, rolling up the shirtsleeves as she emerged. “It’s faster getting dressed when I don’t have to mess with, um, undergarments. This isn’t too revealing, is it?”
“Well, it reveals that you’re definitely a woman, but no, you are quite presentable. How about coffee and breakfast first, then we can go on a shopping spree, my treat,” he bowed shortly before her and winked.
She rolled her eyes at his mini display of gallantry. “Only if I can drive—I have to be of some use. Let me get my shoes on.”
Leah sat down on the edge of the bed and bent over to latch the Velcro bindings on her sandals. James glanced at her and realized he could see down the front of her shirt. He quickly averted his eyes by gentlemanly reflex, and turned away, giving her privacy. ‘You’re a gay man, you’re a gay man,’ the little angel on his right shoulder kept chanting over and over in his head. ‘For a while, just for a while,’ answered the devil on the left.
He picked up the room key and his bag, and opened the door. “I’ll wait out here for you,” he said over his shoulder on the way out. Once outside, he leaned against the exterior wall and let out a long sigh of contentment. She had said ‘we could be with my mother’ before she changed it to ‘I could be with my mother.’ She likes me! What a wonderful thought to start the day.
Ӂ
“Fast food or sit down?” Leah asked as she held the door open behind her. He flashed the room key at her so she knew to go ahead and close the door. She replied by picking up her bundle of keys, shaking them at him—she had her keys, too—and double clicked the key to unlock the little purple Prius.
He opened the car door for her. “Sit down,” he said, as if he was telling a dog to behave himself. He walked around to the other side of the car, got in, then looked over at her to make sure she understood what he meant.
She rolled her eyes, said “Woof,” and panted like a happy puppy.
“Actually, I’d prefer sit down because I’d like fresh fruit and porridge for breakfast—and I don’t think we can get that at a drive through. At least, the oatmeal would be a little messy to eat wrapped in paper.”
Leah laughed at his joke. “I thought you English lords were supposed to be all stuffy and somber. You’re fun.”
James stifled his impulse to invite her to find out just how much fun he could be. Instead, he sighed in resignation, and said, “Well, I was born both human and an heir to a title. Sometimes I’m able to keep the two in balance, but since I’ve been here—with you—I’ve enjoyed squelching the ‘stuffy and somber’ aspect. I may be un-balanced this way, but it is so much more…well, you said it, fun.”
Leah pulled up to a little cafeteria-style café. He held the car door open for her, then she reciprocated at the front door, sweeping her arm out wide to introduce him to the eatery. “Best of both worlds here: grab a tray and fill ‘er up.”
The two enjoyed a quick, cool, and comfortable breakfast. After they finished, Leah stacked their dirty dishes on the cafeteria tray and took it to the conveyor belt that led to the dishwasher behind the hole in the wall. James stood as she left, feeling awkward. She looked back at him and smiled. “You don’t have this at home, do you?”
“Well, we probably do somewhere, but not where I’m used to dining. And I’m certainly not used to my breakfast date clearing the dishes. But I’m sure that life would be different for you, too, if you came over to my part of the world.”
James suddenly became uncomfortable, speaking of the home and life he might not ever have again. In emotional self-defense, he switched gears and attitudes. “So are you ready to go shopping, girlfriend,” he said broadly, hands on hips, mimicking a drag queen.
“Wally World, here we come,” she replied.
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“Oops, wrong one,” she said when she saw that he was opening the door on the passenger’s side for her.
“That has been the most difficult adjustment I’ve had to make here. I cringe as you drive sometimes, afraid that an oncoming vehicle will smash right into us. Or that would be smash ‘left’ into us, wouldn’t it?”
Leah laughed. “You know, I don’t know how I ever survived without you. I’m going to miss you when you leave. How long were—are—you going to stay?”
He wanted to say, ‘As long as you’ll have me, sweetheart,’ but shoved his fantasy response back to savor at a later time. “I don’t know. Really, I don’t know.” James turned around, and found it easier to unload his burden while facing away from her. “This was supposed to be a short business trip—at least, that was my thought up to about three days ago. Then my whole world pretty much fell apart. I’d tell you about it, but then I’d have to relive it as I explained it, so please don’t ask me now. Before I left, I pretty much said to hell with everything, tied up my life with little notes to put my ‘position’ on hold indefinitely, and forwarded my mail to my club. I said ‘piss off’ to some legal matters I was tired of dealing with, went to the airport, bought a new bag and filled it with new—well, new to me—clothes, hopped on a plane, and here I am. You know everything that’s happened to me since I hit Greensboro. Actually, not having to deal with worldly possessions is quite refreshing.”
James suddenly realized that Leah had far less in worldly possessions than he did. Embarrassed, he turned to face her, ready to apologize, but she was smiling.
“You know, it’s all just stuff. Having a good friend to talk to and be with is so much more important than having an apartment full of clothes, a good paying, respectable job, rooms full of the latest electronics, money in the bank. Ooh, money in the bank. I still have that, but I digress. Yesterday, I lost probably everything I owned except the shirt and bathing suit on my back. But I got a new friend who has helped me with my mysteries…” She glanced up at him to see ho
w he had reacted to the word ‘mysteries,’ “and I feel better and more fulfilled than…well…ever as an adult. Does that sound too sappy?”
“No, I was thinking along the same lines except all my ‘stuff’ will probably go away with the legal problems instead of with a house fire. The result is the same, though. We’re a happy, unencumbered-by-material-goods couple.”
“Practically perfect pair,” escaped Leah’s lips before she could think. Rather than retract or explain her remark, she said, “And…we have arrived!”
“Oh, I was here yesterday. Now, should I get a trolley? That seems to be what everyone does.” James was looking confused on the outside in order to try and hide his elation at Leah’s remark about them being a ‘practically perfect pair.’ He could only hope that the limitation of the word ‘practically’ was because of his supposed homosexuality. Be patient, James. Don’t let lust ruin the friendship. If she’s as worthy a woman as you think, she’ll understand the reason for your deception. After all, you never claimed to be gay—that was her assumption.
“James, oh, James,” Leah called out in a lilting, sing-song manner, but didn’t get a response from her introspective friend. “Come on, sweetheart,” she said decidedly, and grabbed him by the inner elbow, pulling him and the cart along with her. “I don’t want to lose you–this is a big store.”
“Oh, sorry,” James said, as he tagged along beside her, happy all over again to be with her.
“Now, I don’t want much, at least for now,” she explained, as she led the way into the heart of the shopping emporium. “Actually, I’m not sure what I want to do in the long run. For the short run, though, I think we better go see Billy at the police station. I want to make sure he knows I’m okay. I also want to try again to see if he’ll let me have a copy of the police report about the kidnapping. I want to know where they found the car Mom was in when she disappeared. Then I want to go to the last place I know she visited last year, the Guilford County Courthouse Museum. It’s taken me ten months to get the nerve to even think about going there. I still wouldn’t even think about it if I didn’t have you here with me. I want to get some insight on what was going through her head that day. Here,” she added, changing the subject, “are these too skimpy?” she asked, and held up a pair of red lace thong panties.
Aye, I am a Fairy Page 13