by H. T. Night
The psychic then grabbed my arm. “An exceptionally long life!” she said loudly.
“I get it,” I said. “I’ll probably see a hundred candles on a birthday cake when all is said and done.”
She continued to look at me with a freakish glare and continued, “Your life span is not the part that is overwhelming me.”
Overwhelming her? That’s a bold statement!
“You will have an extraordinary life, Tommy! I almost want to tell you that it will be the stuff of legends.”
I once again looked up at Maya. “Legends, even!” I laughed.
The lady then let go of my hand and stood up. She turned around and didn’t say a word.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” she said. “I have never had a reading like this. I’m not even sure how to act.”
“It’s okay... really it is. You can tell me anything.” This woman was obviously pushing for the biggest tip she’d ever received.
She sat back down and said, “It will be a life full of adventure and also one full of heartbreak.” She then looked up at Maya and smiled. Okay, that was creepy.
Still, I had to admit, she now had my attention. “What kind of adventure?” I asked.
“You will be the first do certain things and also be the last to do others. You will have whatever you want, whenever you want it. But all of that will come with a price.” She again let go of my hand and looked at me, perplexed.
“You okay?” Now she was freaking me out.
The lady stood up and just walked away from the table. She didn’t even ask to be paid. She just continued to walk as if she was trapped in a daze. I looked up at Maya and grinned. “What a kook!” But it wasn’t over. The lady turned around and walked back to us. I thought she must have realized she didn’t get paid. I reached into my wallet to pull out a twenty. She walked right up to me and I handed her the money. She rejected the money and said, “Make the right decision, Tommy. Everything rides on it. Everything!”
“Right decision... regarding what?” I asked.
“You will know when it happens. It will be a coin flip and you need to follow your heart!” She then sat down and shooed us away and that was it.
I stood up and grabbed Maya’s hand and we went down the street and we were both pretty weirded out.
“That didn’t go anything like I thought it was going to,” I said. “Don’t they usually want to get paid for the reading?”
“Always,” Maya said. “Except this time.” Maya stopped in the middle of the city walk and looked at me. “I have gone to these ladies over a hundred times in the last five years. I have never heard anyone get a reading like that. And I always paid.”
“A hundred times? Look, Maya, I respect that you actually believe these women have the ability to see into the future, but I’m still pretty skeptical. Was that off-the-charts weird what she did? Yes! Does it validate that anything she said would come to pass? I hardly doubt it. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Maya smiled and said, “That sounds like a good idea. When in doubt, eat something.”
I decided to go straight to the plush restaurant part of the date, considering we needed a change of scenery fast. There was a nice seafood restaurant at the end of the strip and I was craving some mahi mahi.
“You like seafood?” I asked.
“Love it.”
I escorted Maya into the restaurant and they immediately seated us. We ordered quickly and ate even faster. I had the mahi mahi, and she had the shrimp platter. We were both incredibly quiet during dinner. She was thoughtful and I wondered what wheels were turning in her head.
After I finished eating, I looked across the table at my Maya. She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I decided to put aside what that palm reader said and just enjoy Maya’s company. She looked adorable and hot; that wasn’t easy to pull off. She caught me looking at her. I gently nodded my head and winked at her.
“What are you up to?” she asked.
“Me? I’m not up to anything.”
“Okay, I’ll believe that for now but I do want to ask you a question.”
“I like questions,” I said, sitting up. “Go for it.”
“What’s your story?”
“My story?”
“Yeah, I can see that waters run deep with you,” she said.
Waters run deep? I’ve never been told that before. And to be honest, I wasn’t even sure what that meant. “Do you want to know my life story, or my belief system?” I asked.
“I want to know what makes you tick.”
I looked at her and didn’t want to ruin this moment by saying something stupid. I had a hundred stupid responses to her question. I decided to filter them and said, “I’m just a regular guy, wanting to be happy.”
“That’s the generic answer, Tommy. If you read a book on how to answer that question that would be what the author would say is the right thing to say.”
I defended myself by saying, “No one has ever said my waters run deep before, especially after a couple of meetings.”
“Tommy, living in Southern California has taught me a few things. The main one is that people our age don’t show their soul to people right out of the gate.”
“And you think I have. I haven’t broken down and said too much, have I? You think I’m already exposed?”
“Not exposed, Tommy. You’re real. It’s how you act. It’s the way you talk. It isn’t really what you say but how you say it.”
This was starting to freak me out; first, crazy palm reading lady and now Maya. I was starting to feel like I was a guest on the Dr. Phil Show and I was about to be told some horrible news.
Maya pulled back. “I’ve made you uncomfortable, haven’t I?”
“No,” I said. “I’m just not very good at this.”
“At talking?” she laughed.
“No.” I was quiet for a moment, and then I said, “I think the same thing about you.”
“What is that, exactly?” Maya asked.
I looked at her and knew what I wanted to say, but I was afraid to say too much. This was our first date, for heaven’s sake. “When I look at you, I can tell there is a lot going on. You seemed to be connected.”
“Connected?”
“A lot of times people say things and their words aren’t connected to how they feel, or they feel things and aren’t quite sure how to say them. With you, it seems effortless. I barely know you, but at the same time. I feel I know exactly who you are.”
“I feel the same way about you, Tommy.” Maya gazed at me in a way that no woman ever had done. It made me nervous and excited all in the same breath. I felt like my heart was going to come out of my chest and loved every minute of it.
I stared across the table and I looked into her eyes. I was once again quiet and, for the first time in my twenty-two years of life, I took a woman in. I saw beyond her looks, I saw past the beauty, the hair, the makeup. I saw her for who she was on the inside; I heard and felt her without a word or a touch.
She looked back at me and was also very quiet and very still. If two people ever knew the exact moment they fell in love, this was that moment. At least, it was mine. This little firecracker, a woman I had met just hours earlier, defined me, and stood her ground. She wasn’t running for the hills; instead, she was right here in the moment with me.
I stood up and walked over to her side of the table. I grabbed an empty chair at an empty table beside us and sat next to her. She didn’t seem surprised at the grand gesture I had just made. Instead, she never quit looking at me. I reached out my right hand and she grabbed it with both of hers. I leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. I took my left hand and placed it on the back of her head. Her lips were soft and tender. The kiss lasted about ten seconds. It was the single greatest kiss of my life. We both opened our eyes, and continued to stare at one another. I had never felt anything so intense in my life.
“You’re very handsome,” Maya
said, rubbing the back of her hand across my face. “But, you know that, don’t you?”
I smiled because it didn’t matter what I thought. The only thing that truly mattered to me at that moment is what she saw in me and what she thought of me.
“I think you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
She smiled shyly and said, “Wow, number one?”
I nodded my head and then kissed her again. This time, the kiss was a tad more passionate. By now, we must have been making a little bit of a scene in the restaurant. But I didn’t care.
Maya leaned into me and placed her forehead on my chest. “You’re like a brick wall!” She let go of my hands and put them over my chest and abs.
“Watch it, young lady. This is a family restaurant.” I looked around and there wasn’t anyone watching.
She continued to feel my chest and my stomach. “You’re built like a gymnast.”
I grinned. “If a gymnast could be so lucky.”
“And here is where Tommy’s cocky side comes out,” she laughed.
“Well, I hate to say it, but I’m a pretty confident person.”
Maya looked up at me and said, “I like that. That’s a good thing.”
“Hey, let’s get out of here,” I said. “There’s a place I want to take you.” I looked down at my watch and it was 10:30 p.m. “We still have enough time to go there and get you back by 1:00 a.m.”
“You know you don’t actually have to take me home at 1:00 a.m.”
“Oh, I’m taking you home at 1:00. Your dad was very clear to me. And as long as you live under his roof,” I joked, “you’re going to abide by his rules.”
“Oh, great, you’re going to be on his side,” she laughed.
“I will until he likes me.”
“He likes you, Tommy. Trust me on that one.”
“You think?”
“Yes, he likes you a lot. He figures you’re two for the price of one.”
“Huh?”
“You can be in both his son’s and daughter’s lives. He sees how much Josiah looks up to you.”
I liked the idea of her dad liking me. “I think your little brother is pretty cool,” I said.
“He’s not so little.”
“I know, he could probably kick my ass, even at seventeen.”
Maya looked me over and then surprisingly said to me, “No, I think you could keep up with him.” And she was as serious as a heart attack.
Chapter Fifteen
We left Irvine Spectrum and headed toward Balboa Beach. There was a great spot near some rocks where I had always wanted to bring someone special. And Maya was as special as they get.
I parked my Mustang on a side street. I opened Maya’s door and held her hand as we walked up to the beach area.
“Uh-oh,” Maya said. “You’re not taking me to your prime makeout spot, are you?”
“Actually,” I said, as I continued to walk, “I have never been up here with another person.”
We approached the sand and we both took off our shoes. We walked out toward the water and stopped just short of the high tide line. We both looked out into the spectacular ocean. I dropped my shoes on the sand and I put my arms around Maya.
“You honestly have never been at this spot with anyone before?” she asked.
“This is the first time. I promise.” I was telling the truth.
“How did you come across such a beautiful spot?”
“One night when I was sixteen, I decided to drive down to PCH and park and do some jogging by the water. I ran for what seemed like days, and I ended up here. I sat right here and stared off into the deep ocean. The moon was directly over the water, much like tonight. I just sat here and had a moment of solitude, a moment of tranquility. And I’ve been coming back two to three times a year ever since.”
“Your special spot. I am honored you shared this with me on our first date.”
“Don’t feel honored,” I said. “Someone that sees the world the way you do deserves to know about places like this that are just around the corner.”
I held Maya close. I could feel her heart beat up against me. She felt so natural in my arms. I was so the unromantic, but on this night, you would have thought I was Casanova himself.
“I love how the moon sends a strip of light across the ocean,” Maya said. “It’s amazing that just a half moon could give off so much glow.”
A half moon? Oh shit! In two weeks, it will be a full moon again and all that weird shit will start happening. “Maya, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Maya looked up at me and winced. “Oh great, here it comes.”
“Here what comes?”
“The... you have a girlfriend speech, or ‘this is a little too-much-too-fast’ speech.”
“I love how quickly things are going. But that isn’t what I wanted to tell you. And, no, I don’t have a girlfriend, either.” I paused and began to rethink what I was about to say. I had no idea how to say what I wanted to tell her without sounding like a complete idiot. Or worse yet, someone who is disillusioned.
“Okay, what is it, Tommy?”
I took a moment. I let go of her and sat on the sand. Maya wiped herself off and sat next to me. This was going to be hard to share with her and I sighed heavily. “Maya, there’s something about who I am that cannot be defined. And I can’t tell you exactly what it is because I am not even sure what it is myself.”
“Are you sick?” Maya asked, extremely concerned.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I have never been healthier.”
“Okay, then what is it?”
“Look, just know that...” I stopped myself from speaking and stared at the moon.
“Look, Tommy. I don’t need to know everything right now. I like you and I want to learn more about you.”
“I like you, too, Maya. That’s why I think you should know.”
“Well, you’re obviously not ready to tell me and I’m okay with that. Let’s just allow things to continue to happen according to the fate of the Triat.”
“Huh?” I nearly fell to the floor.
“What?” she asked, clueless.
“You said ‘fate of the Triat!’”
“It’s just a saying my grandfather used to say to me when I was younger.”
“The fate of the Triat? He used those exact words?”
“Yeah, I asked him what it meant when I was younger and he told me it was the force that allows love to exist in each of us.” Maya smiled at me, not knowing how enormous her words were to me.
Holy shit! Her grandfather knew about this world. I needed to know more about her grandfather. “Is he still alive?”
“No, he actually had something awful happen to him.”
“What happened?”
“Well, they never found his body, all they found were his things. He was one of those older guys that were seventy but looked forty. He was athletic and loved the outdoors and one weekend he went camping by himself and never returned. They found his things torn up and shredded by a campfire. We could only imagine what kind of wild animal got to him.”
“Wow, that’s insane. I’m sorry to hear that. How old were you when this happened?”
“It was about eight years ago.” Maya’s eyes began to water, so I pulled her close to me.
“It’s okay,” I said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I shouldn’t have asked for more.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m glad I told you about my grandfather.”
We continue to stare at the ocean together until the tide reached our feet. We decided to head back to the car. I walked with my arm around Maya to keep her warm and I just took in the whole night. There were a couple of amazing things I found out tonight. One, I had definitely fallen for this girl. And two, her grandfather definitely was—or is—a vampire or a werewolf.
Chapter Sixteen
I delivered Maya to her home at fifteen minutes before one. I was pretty pleased with myself getting her home by the time
her father asked. I walked her up to the door and then we stopped in front of it.
“I had an amazing time tonight, Tommy,” Maya said, grabbing my hands.
“So did I, Maya.”
“You’re going to call me, right?”
I looked down at this confident, young lady and she was showing me a bit of vulnerability that I’m sure most girls feel after a first date. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “We don’t need to ever talk like that. Games are out the door, when it comes to us.”
Maya pulled back. “Are they?”
“They never started.”
Maya looked deep into my eyes. “I believe you.”
I leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips and again on her cheek.
“You’re a great guy, Tommy.”
“And you’re an amazing girl, Maya.” I winked at her and trotted off to my car. She waved me off and went inside. I looked up at the moon and said out loud, “I’m in deep.”
When I arrived back to my apartment, Patrick and Sasha were up playing a game of Clue at the kitchen table.
“Seriously,” I said, as I entered my apartment. “A vampire and a werewolf are trying to figure out if Colonel Mustard killed someone in the conservatory with the candlestick?”
“Hey, don’t give it away, Tommy. I’m crushing Patrick. This is the first time he has ever played.” Sasha rolled her dice and moved her red game piece into the kitchen. It figured the vixen would choose Miss Scarlet.
“So, how did your date go, player?” Patrick asked.
“Date? I didn’t write on the note I was going on a date.”
“You didn’t have to,” Sasha responded. “It was the fact that you even wrote a note. You were lining up your ducks in a row, my friend. Leaving a note definitely meant you had the night under control. Therefore, I could only conclude you were on a date.”
“Wow, Sherlock, you’re off the charts. You better watch out, Patrick. You’re playing Clue with Matlock.”
“So, it was a date!” Sasha said.
“Yeah, it was a date,” I said. “Probably the best date I ever had.”
“Ever had?” Sasha laughed out loud. “Wow, you are a putz!” Now, her claws were out.