by J W Rocque
“I guess I never knew the… fake you?”
“All the better for you.”
“So where are you from originally?”
Evan smiled gently.Okay… so I still need to be somewhat evasive and I still may need to downright lie at times… but at least I’m rid of that accursed makeup. “Originally? Greece. The… family moved around a lot.”
Kim smiled. “Are you sure you can"t visit with us while you"re being real?”
“I really do appreciate the offer, but I"d like to just relax by myself in a hotel for the night and get a fresh start in the morning catching the sights in and around Providence.”
“Can I give you my phone number? You can call me if you want to see another play or something.”
“Sure, Kim.”
Kim wrote down the number and handed it to Evan, who slipped it into his trouser pocket. They said their goodbyes. As they parted, Kim thought about Evan, while Evan thought about his latest fresh start and the possibilities that awaited him.
December 15, 1983 Auntie Blue felt as though she were walking on egg shells as she tried to make conversation with Michelle. Michelle was obviously distraught and with good reason. Auntie Blue wanted to console her with a hug but was careful not to give Michelle the impression that she was treating her like a child. It was hard enough sensing that Michelle seemed suspicious of her the day before when she wanted to visit with Evan.
The descent in the elevator was awkward, as neither said anything. Michelle felt like she was about to cry, but she managed to appear stoic. As they reached the ground floor, Auntie Blue said, “Just down the hall to the right and we will be there soon, Michelle.”
Michelle felt a little more comfortable upon hearing Auntie Blue address her by her name, but she couldn"t find any words to say. The events of the day were overwhelming her. She just kept up with Auntie Blue without realizing the progression of her steps, as though she were walking in a dream or a trance.
“Michelle? How are you doing, swee…” Auntie Blue stopped herself short before calling her „sweetheart", a name Michelle mighttake to be condescending. “How are you doing? We"re here.”
Michelle snapped out of her dreamlike state. “Can I get in the back of the ambulance with him?”
“I"m sorry. Paramedics will be stabilizing him. You can ride up front with the driver though. That way you will be right there when he is removed from the ambulance upon arrival at your destination.”
Michelle tried to be somewhat comforted, but it weighed heavily on her not to be by Evan"s side. “Okay,” she uttered apprehensively.
“Right this way,” said Auntie Blue as she escorted Michelle into the vehicle via the passenger side door. “There you go.” Then she looked at the driver, gave a remorseful sigh, and silently expressed her reservations to him.
As Auntie Blue closed the ambulance door, the driver looked at Michelle. “Have you ever ridden in an ambulance before?”
“No,” replied Michelle. “I haven"t.”
“Well, all you need to do is relax. Don"t let the sirens disturb you. I will activate them only in heavy traffic areas and intersections to alert other drivers on the road. Sometimes people tend to get startled when they hear the sirens. They can sound rather daunting.”
“Thank you for preparing me,” said Michelle. “I"ll just close my eyes and pray… for Evan.”
“Is that the patient"s name?”
“Yes.”
“Praying sounds like a good idea. We all hope that he will be fine. Fletcher University Hospital has a great reputation.”
“Mr. Johnson!” John Fleming was making his way to the hospital exit and did not pay attention to the voice, having forgotten the alias he supplied to the Fletcher University Hospital administrator. If he was to pull off what he intended to accomplish, he did not want his real name heard by anyone.
“Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson!” Suddenly the name clicked in his head and he turned to see Stuart Williams hurrying toward him. “I"m glad I caught you before you left. Believe it or not, we just received a courtesy call from the administrator of the hospital thatMr. Troy is transferring from. He"s on his way to this facility as I speak.”
“What?” hollered John. “You just told me…”
“Yes… yes, I know. Believe me, our records clearly show him as arriving tomorrow, but the transferring hospital, as well as the ambulatory service, both had the transfer scheduled for this morning. I… don"t understand how there could have been such a miscommunication.”
John felt himself getting hot and sweaty under the collar. “So… when will he arrive?”
“Soon… in a matter of minutes.”
“May I wait in the entrance to greet him?”
“Greet him? The paramedics will need to get him to his room stat. If you want, you may stay in the waiting room and we can give you the patient"s status as soon as we know what it is. But you certainly will not be able to visit with him today.”
“I need to just go out and get some fresh air,” said John. “I"ll come back later.”
“Or you could call,” offered Stuart.
“Hmm? Oh… right. Maybe I"ll do that,” said John as he turned to leave the facility by the main entrance.
The ride was tortuous as Michelle"s anxiety did not allow her brain to rest. To get her mind offEvan"s fight for his life, she tried thinking about the arrangements she would need to make to get her car repaired. But thinking of the 1967 Camaro RS only made her reminisce about Evan"s gift and how they might probably enjoy it no more. The fact that she felt responsible tortured her even more than if she had not been the driver at the time of the accident. Her thoughts raced back to their road journey together.
September, 1975 Michelle was excited to be at the wheel of a sporty car for almost a year and a half. Also, providing transportation for Evan made her feel like a more important cog in the relationship. She liked the responsibility despite Evan"s constant reminders of how important she was already. It was easy going thus far, as they spent over a year living and working in Santa Monica while meeting a lot of Hollywood celebrities before embarking on a trek that would take themthrough the southwest… perfect weather conditions for a novice and diminutive driver who required a back rest to help keep her in a forward-leaning position in order to reach the gas pedal.
It was Evan"s idea to travel the historic and scenic route 66. As they pulled into Flagstaff, Arizona, they joked about what a great idea it was to traverse the desert during the hot summer months.
“The idea all along was to brave the harshest temperatures to make it all the more easyto check out the Grand Canyon,” joked Evan.
“Oh, yeah… right,” said Michelle. “Besides, I love the way you look with your hair all sweaty.”
“I must look terrible.”
“On the contrary… the sun seems to have lightened your hair color to an even more pleasant hue of honey-colored brown. I like it. Then again… it could just be another manifestation of that human phenomenon I refer to as soulshine.”
Michelle smiled. She considered Evan"s concept of soulshine, the belief that a beautiful soul has a direct effect on the continuously perceived improvement of the outward appearance, to be the ultimate compliment.
“So,” said Evan, “how about hanging out for the autumn and winter right here in Flagstaff?”
Michelle looked around. “Sounds nice to me. Then again, it seems like anyplace whereI"m with you works out just fine.”
Evan smiled, reached out his hands as they sat parked in the car, wiped the sweat from both sides of her face, and they kissed. “That roadside diner looks inviting, doesn"t it?”
“Mm-hm. Evan… sometimes I feel like I"m inside a wonderful dream and that any moment I"m going to wake up and find out that none of this is happening.”
“Hmmm. Do you get this feeling often, Soulshine?”
“Just every now and then… whenever I feel like I"m not supposed to be this extremely happy.”
“Then I have an
idea.”
“What?”
“Tonight, let"s make sure you don"t wake up from that wonderful dream.” Michelle blushed. Evan loved the way she continued to exhibit a little shyness even though they had been together for years, including the last three traveling exclusively with each other. Soulshine. It’s so fitting that she looks just like she did when we fell in love with each other.
“So… what do we do once we find a place to settle down?” she asked.
“Well, we should find some means of employment again.”
“What will we do for work?”
“Back in Santa Monica, we did everything from bussing tables to caring for the elderly. We"ll find something here too.”
“You should have done some acting in Hollywood. I"m sure that once they saw you audition, you would have gotten a job.”
“Michelle, the last thing I need is to have my face plastered across the silver screen for everyone in my recent past to see.”
Michelle quickly had a flash of her parents viewing the latest movie starring Evan… with or without a stage name to try to hide the appearance. “I suppose you could have asked for a role with a lot of makeup… and you would have used a stage name… as long as you didn"t change your real… er… the name I have grown to love.”
“It would have been too risky. Back in the theaters, I could find some small playhouse willing to pay me under the table in order to avoid having to provide identification for tax purposes. Hollywood doesn"t work that way.”
“It"s just that it"s so difficult to keep finding new jobs under that condition.”
Evan shrugged. “Luckily, we don"t need to earn huge amounts of cash. What has helped the most is your ability to open savings accounts withthe money I"ve accumulated over the years. That account back in Santa Monica enabled us to live off the interest since weleft there.”
Evan shrewdly had their lives planned out, at least until Michelle could no longer use her current legal forms of identification to do the things that he could not do, like open bank accounts and drive automobiles. He knew that someday he would need to change the plan when Michelle could no longer convince people that she is as old as her identification states she is, but it would certainly require some clever help with falsifying documents. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy time with his Michelle. He had waited too long to be deeply in love with another soul. Besides, he thought, what could possibly go wrong?
June, 1962 Early the next morning, Evan decided to get an early start and take a walk around the city. Providence was mid-size as far as cities go and, even though it was dwarfed by New York, he yearned for a bigger change just as he had yearned for a huge change when he left Indiana for the big city. This time, however, he wanted something in between. He wanted to become part of a well-populated community for eight to ten years, just not a frantically bustling concrete jungle.
When he returned back to his hotel, he noted the bus depot across the street. He decided to go back to his room, pack up his belongings, and choose a bus that had one of the surrounding towns as its destination. The bus he chose had the simple destination „Riverside" displayed above the large front window. It sounded picturesque.
The bus crossed the Providence River and took an exit on the other side of the river. The road was lined with trees and the homes and businesses looked charming and quaint. The buildings on the right had the river as their backdrop. The bus stopped at the end of the road and turned in a parking lot to let people off before it would return in the opposite direction with a new set of passengers.
Evan heard the distinct sound of carnival organ music as he smelled the fresh scent of the beach. Outside was an amusement park, the likes of which he had never seen before. He had been to Coney Island and the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, but this park was different. It was in the middle of a community and was not a national tourist attraction. It seemed more like it was a private haven for families to enjoy the summer days together… a private haven just known to Rhode Islanders.
Evan stepped out of the bus and immediately smelled the wonderful combined scents of clam cakes, caramel popcorn and cotton candy. He observed parents and children, all laughing and having a good time. Hedidn"t care to partake in any of the food or games. He just wanted to observe the happiness. He smiled at the families as he walked past them. He not only looked nineteen, he felt nineteen. He liked feeling his physiological age instead of his biological age.
Being mindful of everything he put into his body, after a couple of hours he decided to give the clam chowder a try. As he paid for his cup of chowder, one of the coins from his pocket fell to the ground. When he turned to go, a little girl stood there with his coin raised up toward him.
“Excuse me, mister. You dropped a quarter.” Evan looked down and got a strange feeling. He was looking at a girl that couldn"t have been more than eight years old, yet there was something about her eyes. They seemed to project a purity and honesty that touched his heart. “Thank you. That was nice of you. I"m sure that quarter could have bought you somethingnice around here. I"ll tell you what… for your honesty, you can keep the quarter as a reward.”
Before the girl could thank Evan, her father walked over to them.“Come here. I told you to stay with us…”
“Please,” said Evan. “Don"t be upset with her. She saw me drop a coin so she picked it up to give it to me. You have obviously taught her wellabout being honest. She"s a lovely little girl.”
“Yes, Daddy,” said the girl, “and look… the man let me have the quarter. Can I get something in the arcade with it?”
“I suppose you can. But please do not leave my side again, do you understand?”
“Thanks for not scolding her,” said Evan. “I would have felt somewhat responsible. I… can"t really explain it, but there"s something about her that… tells me that she"s… very special. It"s… in her eyes and her smile.”
The father looked at Evan skeptically.“Thank you. She… is a good girl. I just need to keep an eye on her all the time.”
X
December 15, 1983 John made his way around to the ambulatory entrance with his heart beating as fast as his mind was racing. “Excuse me,” he said toone of the attendants. “Can you tell me something?”
“Sir, you should not be here. This entrance is for ambulance drivers and paramedics only.”
“I just need to know if you are made aware in advance as to which patient is arriving. I… I"m a friend of a man named Evan Troy, and I promised him I"d be here for him.”
“Did you say Evan Troy?”
“Yes… yes.”
“The driver just dispatched to us. He will be in the very next ambulance… within a few minutes… but you cannot wait here.”
“That"s okay. At least I know he will be arriving shortly. I"ve… been so nervous. I"ll enter by the main entrance and wait until he"s able to have visitors. Thank you very much, sir.”
John left the ambulatory entrance and made his way just around the corner where he would not be seen. He tried to calm his racing heart but could not. I need to act fast… just in case Michelle happens to be close behind… but now that’s she’s free of him… who knows? She may be using this opportunity to get away from him for good. She’s the last person who needs to witness this. He hid his pistol, with silencer attached, in his overcoat sleeve. His finger was on the trigger. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face.
The ambulance entered the lot, turned around, and proceeded to back up to the entrance. As the vehicle came to a halt, the driver looked over at Michelle, who was sound asleep, exhausted from worry during the ride. Let the little honey rest. What a sweet little thing. Oh well… it’s show time.
The driver opened his door and went to the rear of the vehicle. He opened the doors. John struggled to get a clear view. A paramedic was in the back, crouched beside a gurney with a white sheet covering it. The driver latched the left rear door to a hook on the side of the vehicle while the paramedic came out to do the same with the door
on the right. John walked swiftly toward the open doors and extended the sleeve of his overcoat toward the white sheet. He maintained a safe distance while firing a bullet at the white sheet. He then hid behind a pillar as the paramedic, who heard a whizzing sound, looked inside the vehicle. “Down!” he said to the driver as he noticed the bullet hole in the sheet. “Someone is shooting at us!”
The attendants who were coming out to assist were stunned to hear the words coming out of the paramedic"s mouth. “Someone has a gun! Take cover!”
The commotion awoke Michelle, who soon realized that she had arrived at their destination. She got out of the ambulance and saw people panicking and taking cover. The driver and paramedic took cover in front of the vehicle while the attendant cried, “They left the door open! The patient is still in there! He may have been shot!”
“Shot?” Michelle cried. “I"ve got to see him!”
“Out of the way, little girl!” yelled the attendant. “We need to close the door so he"ll be safe. There"s a nut on the loose!”
Michelle reached the rear of the vehicle before the attendant. “Not until I"m in there with him!” she screamed. “Evan, I"m right here. Are you okay?”
Michelle saw the sheet but did not see Evan"s face at the head of the gurney. “Evan?” Then she slowly tugged on the sheet to expose more of him. The sight of what she saw next paralyzed her with fear, for there was no semblance of Evan underneath… just a pile of ashes… dust.
After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Michelle let out an anguished scream, a mixture of tears and horror. John heard his daughter"s cry and stepped out from his hiding place. As Michelle stepped backwards out of the ambulance, John"s hand rested on her shoulder. She turned in a fright and exclaimed, “Dad!”
“It"s okay, sweetheart. It"s all over now. You can come home. He won"t do anything to you ever again.”
Michelle noticed that her father"s right hand was concealed inside his overcoat sleeve. “Dad? Dad, what is inside your sleeve? Oh my God, is that a…? No! You… you killed him! You killed him! You killed him!” Michelle"s tirade became inaudible as she became hysterical. She pulled away fromher father"s hand and ran toward the safety of the entrance. Two security officers grabbed John from behind and subdued him. Soon three police cruisers pulled up, as the paramedic"s first acknowledgment of a gunshot caused someone to call the authorities.