by Laurie Lyons
And as if someone had heard her, he appeared. There was Nathaniel, sitting on the grass of the quad, leaning against a tree. He still looked completely perfect in the light of day. The sun caught the dark colors in his hair and it glinted in the sunshine. Lucy hesitated for a moment, would he remember her? Would he want to talk to her? Then he glanced over in her direction and grinned and waved to her. It was the smile that Lucy had seen the night before and those butterflies came back with a vengeance. Without any further hesitation, she bounded over and grinned down at him.
"I've been looking for you…" Nathaniel said, as he stood up beaming. Lucy again forgot all other obligations, fell into step beside him and they walked toward the park behind the campus.
"Been looking for me?" Lucy wondered, "why?"
"Well, I need to test a theory," Nathaniel replied. He glanced up at the sky and squinted into the sun. He strolled with an easy gait, one that made others feel at ease.
"And what theory is that?" Lucy said as she walked.
He was silent for a moment, "I'll let you know when it comes true ok?"
Lucy laughed. They had reached a park bench tucked into the shade of a maple tree and Lucy plopped down. Nathaniel sat slowly next to her. She looked out at the park. It was a dazzling bright day and a few students were lounging about and enjoying the early spring. Lucy kept her eyes forward; she made a conscious effort to not look at Nathaniel because she found him so distracting.
"So have you been thinking about me all morning?" he asked in a slightly teasing tone.
Lucy snorted, "Hardly!" she exclaimed. "Frankly pal, I don't even remember your name."
"I thought you had a photographic memory?" He countered.
She laughed again, "I do but only for the important things," she giggled.
"Nice," Nathaniel said sarcastically, "very nice."
Lucy laughed again. "Sorry buddy, I have got a lot on my mind." She shrugged, "some things just don't make the cut."
Now it was Nathaniel's turn to laugh, "I will keep that in mind." There was a pause, "it's too bad though," he commented while leaning back in the bench and gazing up at the sun.
"Why?" She challenged smiling.
"Because I thought about you all morning," Lucy started to laugh but then took a sideways look at him. He was staring right at her - a shiver ran down her neck.
"You should," she stumbled on her words, "you should, keep yourself busy."
"Oh I am plenty busy," he replied and smiled at her.
"Cryptic much?" She challenged.
He shrugged, "Not really, to be honest, I don't really remember. You see, I have a terrible memory."
Lucy shook her head, "Stop it,"
"No!" he exclaimed, "really, can't remember what I had for breakfast! I'm horrible."
"Well then how did you remember me?" Lucy shot back.
"That's why I kept you on my mind all day," he tapped his temple, "steel trap now."
She laughed. There was silence again.
"You look pretty today," he said quietly. Lucy suddenly wished she had showered. She reached up and touched her hair, the red ringlets had splayed into a wild mess, half of which she had twisted up with a pen. She rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she said as she pulled out the pen and shoved it in her bag.
"I suspect though that you look pretty on most days," he said leaning forward to catch her eye. Lucy turned her head to look back out at the park.
"Thanks," she tapped her toe. She was not used to this type of conversation. "You are wearing the same thing that you wore last night." She blurted then cringed.
He looked down at himself. "You are correct," he nodded, "your memory really is something."
"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh, "I say stupid stuff sometimes."
"It's not a stupid thing and I AM wearing the same clothes two days in a row," he laughed, "no one is perfect."
"No, I guess not," she shook her head. "It's just my memory is great most of the time. I mean, it helps me but sometimes, when it matters most, it sucks."
"When it matters most," he smiled lightly.
She rolled her eyes again, "I just meant,"
"You thought about me all morning," he leaned into her.
"No!" she lied, "I was busy,"
"Doing what?" he challenged.
And so Lucy ran through the last 2 hours of her life in painstaking detail. The classes, the girls in the dorm, everything.
"A party," Nathaniel smiled, "that sounds fun."
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, they tend to be." She fell silent and realized that yet again she had just talked incessantly.
"Yup," Nathaniel said with a smile, "sounds really fun."
Then it dawned on Lucy, "Oh my God," she said, "what an idiot I am."
"Don't say that," he replied quickly.
"No, I mean," she shook her head at her own dimness. "Would you like to come to the party?"
"Why yes, what a great idea, I would love to come to the party."
"Cool," Silence. Where Lucy sat, slightly uncomfortable, Nathaniel could not be more at ease.
"Tell me about your parents. Where do they live?" He asked.
"They are divorced." Lucy replied plainly, "because of me." She added looking out at the park.
"No! That can't be!" He sounded so genuinely offended on her behalf that Lucy laughed a little.
"I assure you it's true. I read the divorce papers." Nathaniel still shook his head in disbelief. Lucy rifled through her mind and pulled that file from its shelf in her head and quoted directly, "The Plaintiff (that's my father) claims irreconcilable differences with the Defendant (that's my mother) over the care and handling of their daughter's unique abilities. The Plaintiff in good conscience can no longer be party to decisions made on his daughter's behalf and furthermore refuses to contribute anymore to her detriment." Nathaniel stared at her stunned. "I know," Lucy said calmly, "it seems unkind but my Dad had his reasons for leaving my Mom. I assume from the papers that he didn't like me being tested anymore or a part of conferences or lectures. I like it though." Nathaniel started to say something but Lucy continued, "My father loved me very much. He and my Mom stayed good friends and he came to all my school stuff and Christmas and everything. He didn't abandon my Mom or me. He just stopped having anything to do with my photographic memory. He would never talk about it again. He was a good man and a wonderful father."
"Was?" Nathaniel asked training his eyes on her.
Lucy sighed. "My father died in a car accident last year. A drunk driver killed him."
Nathaniel's face fell and he sighed too. "That's so sad. I'm sorry."
"It is sad," Lucy almost whispered, "my Mom and I were devastated," she took a deep breath to steady herself. "But life goes on. I wanted to postpone University for one more year to stay with Mom in Kansas but she wouldn't hear of it. She said my father would be furious if he knew that because of him I had missed out. She's probably right but I felt bad leaving her." There was another little pause and Lucy sighed, "Let's change the subject."
"So what class are you skipping right now?" he obeyed.
"I normally don't skip," Lucy said quickly.
"Noted,"
"But it's chem and I hate it."
"Chemistry is wonderful," Nathaniel said shocked.
"Now there is your first fault," Lucy grinned, "no normal person actually likes chemistry."
"Really?" he was intrigued.
"Truth. As a matter of fact, the possibility that you live with your mother, dress up like cartoon characters and have dead bodies in your basement just went up to 85 percent."
"That can't be good," he smiled.
"It does not look good for you," Lucy chided.
"What should I do?"
Lucy shrugged, "The damage is done."
He nodded soberly, "Would it help to say that I like biology more?"
"No, definitely not,"
"Oops," he replied. They smiled at each other. "Did I mention how pretty you look today?"
"Really?" he nodded, "just wanted to make sure." He paused. Lucy let her eyes meet his.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, "your eyes changed color."
"Sorry?" he asked with a slight tilt to his head.
"Last night, your eyes were grey, today, they look blue-ish." Lucy shook her head, "I've never seen that before."
Nathaniel sighed seriously, "You know what this means don't you?"
"What?" Lucy was intrigued.
"That you thought about me all morning,"
"HA!" Lucy exploded in laugher and slapped him playfully on the arm.
Lucy looked at her watch. It was almost 1130. She was amazed again at how quickly time passed when she was with this guy.
"This is becoming a pattern," Lucy said as she tucked a stray red curl behind her ear.
"What," Nathaniel asked, again leaning into her and studying her face, "running into each other and talking for hours?"
"Yup," she said smiling, "if I didn't know better, I would say that you were stalking me."
"Busted," Nathaniel grinned.
Just as Lucy was going to come up with a witty reply, a dark shadow crossed over them. Lucy shaded her eyes and looked up to see Janielle standing over them like a centurion, hands on her wide hips and mad as a hornets nest. Lucy dropped her head. She was above all things, a good student, and she had let another good, albeit bitchy, student down today.
"Hey Janielle," Lucy mumbled. She started to explain that she had just run into her new friend Nathaniel and if Janielle would just take a good look at him, she would completely understand why Lucy skipped.
"I don't want to hear your bullshit Lucy," Janielle snapped, "I just worked my ass off so that you could get my mark. Today was the midterm." Lucy gasped, of course it was! How had she forgotten something so important? The feeling was both terrifying and exhilarating.
"I was just…." Lucy started to motion to Nathaniel but again, Janielle cut her off.
"Look, I don't share my marks with people that I LIKE let alone…well… you. Just because I got stuck with you as a lab partner does not mean I have to put up with a bunch of crap. I thought you were supposed to be smart with some sort of super brain. But you can't tell time! You owe me," she spouted, "just so you know. I have never been so pissed at someone. You are an idiot." And she stalked off. Lucy looked after her and vowed to make it better, somehow.
"Sorry about that," Lucy said to Nathaniel, "she never liked me."
"I get the impression that the feeling is mutual," Nathaniel replied.
Lucy smiled, "This is true," and squinted her eyes at him. "She spells her name with an extra "I". I find that annoying."
"Totally logical," Nathaniel nodded and grinned at her.
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Not JUST that, she's, well, she's…" she struggled.
"She looks to be a very unhappy person." Nathaniel offered and Lucy had to agree. "Which I am as well because I really must go."
"Sure," she replied, trying to sound casual, and counter the desperation her heart suddenly felt. "I have to get to class anyway. I'll see you later." She started to get up but Nathaniel reached out and grabbed her hand. Gently, steadily, with the utmost of care, he lifted her hand to his mouth, turned it over and touched his lips to the inside of her wrist. Lucy gasped, shivers flew up her arm and her knees buckled, forcing her to sit back down on the bench. He placed her hand back on her lap. Lucy sat frozen, afraid that if she moved the magic would break.
"Where will you be tonight?" He whispered.
"Munzie's on Elm Street." Lucy whispered back.
Wordlessly, Nathaniel stood up and started to saunter away but turned and started to walk backward, "You proved my theory by the way," he called back. Lucy startled out of her trance, she looked up and raised her eye brows in question. "I'll tell you tonight!" He smirked when she rolled her eyes in frustration, turned back around and walked away. Lucy sighed.
At noon, she had her intermediate Shakespeare class. Lucy sat down in the middle of the desks and pulled her class materials out despite having a small case of the shakes after her last encounter with Nathaniel. She pulled out her copy of Hamlet, notepad and pen; this time all three were for show. Dr. Black wrote almost everything important down on the white board allowing Lucy to sit and absorb without thinking, well, she could think, think about Nathaniel. Dr. Black began the lecture where they left off on Wednesday; Act 4 Scene 5 Line 185. It was the part where Ophelia has gone mad with her love for Hamlet and her father's untimely death. Lucy once again found the book in her head and let it fall open to the scene.
"And will a not come again?
And will a not come again?
No, no he is dead
Go to thy deathbed
He never will come again"
Lucy opened her copy of Hamlet to the appropriate scene and froze. There, tucked in the crease of the book was a leaf, a pagoda dogwood leaf to be exact. It was fresh and bright green like some natural bookmark. Nathaniel must have put it there. Was it the same leaf? Was it the leaf that seemed to reach and quiver for his attention? Lucy had never picked up her bag off the ground. She had never left it alone - Nathaniel had no way to get to it. She knew she hadn't seen anything in his hands. There weren't even any pagoda dogwood trees in the park behind the campus. Lucy shook her head.
She twirled the leaf between her fingers. Lucy was uncomfortable with so many questions without answers. Her mission in life had always been the facts, the truth and the whole story. She never went half way. Lucy made a promise to herself that if and when she saw Nathaniel again, she would not get distracted and would get his story. She was shaken up during the lecture and was grateful that Dr. Black hadn't called on her. After he dismissed them, Lucy packed her bag, placing the leaf carefully back into her book and headed for the Student's Union Building.
As she cut through the quad, Lucy saw the dogwood tree that she and Nathaniel were standing beside last night. She was tempted to go and examine it. Could she find the same leaf? She could see it clearly in her memory. It was dark though and here in the light of the day the tree would look different. Lucy wasn't sure if she could confirm if it was the same leaf. She deeply hoped that he would come to Munzies tonight because Lucy was determined to get answers from him. With a new sense of purpose, Lucy walked into the student's union building for lunch.
The food court was crowded. Lucy joined the shortest line up of the eight or so vendors lining the walls. She bought a sub and a can of coke and turned to scan the huge room. She quickly found the group she was looking for. Paige and Suzanne were sitting with three others in the middle of the rows of tables. Two were boys. Nick, Paige's stocky black haired boyfriend, Simon, Nick's roommate and Suzanne's soon to be boyfriend who was tall and lean with a shock of red hair. The last person at the table was Anastasia. They saw her at the same moment she saw them and they all hollered and waved. Lucy grinned. She had found a place where she belonged and it felt great.
Lucy remembered the first painful week of school when she didn't even bother looking around the food court because she knew she had no friends. It was excruciatingly awkward. Finally in the second week, she was sitting alone in the dorm cafeteria at dinner, pretending to read when she heard a loud, clear voice say, "Hey are you a loser like me?" Lucy had looked up to see a beautiful girl with long silky black hair, big blue eyes and a body that made boys drool and girls sick. Her name was Anastasia and she and Lucy had been best friends from that moment on. Anastasia lived in the same girl's dorm but on the second floor. They had made friends with the girls on the fourth floor because Anastasia had determined that the second floor girls were tools. Paige and her cleavage had been responsible for bringing in the boys.
They had formed their own gang. The group spent most of their non-class time together. Most of them worked at Munzie's and they ate lunch and sometimes dinner together. They hung out together almost every weekend. These were Lucy's people. Lucy slid onto a stool a
cross from Anastasia and dropped her bag on the floor at her feet.
"Did you make it on time this morning?" Suzanne asked from the other end of the table.
Lucy nodded, "I ran like the wind baby." Suzanne gave her the thumbs up.
"Nice work with the pit-bull covert information Lucy," Nick said before he shoved almost an entire hamburger into his mouth. The girls had clearly filled him in on the row-a-thon.
"No problem," Lucy replied while unwrapping her sub, "I am here to serve your party needs."
Nick was still chewing his half a cow so Simon responded, "Our party needs," he motioned to himself, "are your party needs." He motioned to Lucy like he was bestowing a gift on her.
Everyone moved on further discuss the plans for the party and the new addition of flowers through the quad. Suzanne was lecturing on the dangers of global warming and Lucy took the opportunity to sneak in a private conversation with Anastasia. She leaned slightly over the table. Anastasia instinctively leaned forward as well, sensing that Lucy had something to discuss. She looked expectantly at Lucy, waiting.
"Do I have a story for you," Lucy began. She knew she could tell Anastasia everything about Nathaniel. She could tell her about the leaf, the warm tingles, everything. She decided to start at the beginning, "So after the conference last night…" Lucy began.
But Anastasia cut her off in an effort to move the story along, "You mean after you sat in the coffee shop by yourself like the loser that you are…" Anastasia was smiling at the joke.
Lucy didn't smile.
"What?" she asked while losing her train of thought. Anastasia took the last fry out of the paper cup in front of her and dipped it into her ketchup.
"I thought you've already read Hamlet," she said casually while popping the fry in her mouth.
"I have," Lucy said slowly.
"So," Anastasia swallowed, "Why were you sitting all by your little lonesome last night reading it?"
All by her lonesome?
Lucy searched her memory. Had Nathaniel left the table? Had he gone to the bathroom? No, she was positive that at no point was she sitting at that table alone. She brought up the image of the café. She confirmed that there were no pillars or obstructions that would make anyone see her but not Nathaniel. If Anastasia had been at the door, or in the café, or even just walking by, she would have had a clear view of their table. Her heart started to race. She began to sweat and pant slightly. Lucy reached over and grabbed Anastasia's arm.