by Jones, D. F.
“Julia?”
She said, “Yeah?”
“Did you read about an incident last year in Roswell, New Mexico?”
Julia turned and placed one hand on her hip. “Yep, the people from the area thought a weather balloon was a flying saucer.”
Phillip rubbed his hands up and down her arms and took a deep breath. The look of intent in his eyes had the air backing up in Julia’s lungs. He said, “A friend of mine from the Air Force worked the crash site. He overheard a man whispering to the local sheriff that he found a flying saucer. The man found materials made from chemical elements not found in our periodic table. He hid them on his farm. That was June 14, 1947, and on June 20, 1947, the rocket program was initiated. Whether the two events are related is merely conjecture, but my friend contacted me yesterday and invited me to Cape Canaveral for a possible job.” He paused and searched her eyes. “I want to take you with me.”
Julia’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. With a shaky voice, she replied, “You want to take me with you?”
Julia watched Phillip reach inside his pant pocket and take a ring out of a black box. His fingers trembled as he gazed into her eyes. With his other hand, Phillip caressed the curve of her cheek. “The touch of your lovely face, the flowery scent of your silky hair, and the promise of a kiss from your sweet, full lips makes my heart burn brighter than all of the stars shining above us. I want you in my arms every morning and every night.” He leaned in and kissed her, then whispered against her lips, “I love you, Julia. Will you marry me?”
Julia’s smile couldn’t hide her jubilation. Her face beamed as she returned Phillip’s kiss. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “Yes, Phillip, yes, yes, and yes.” Warmth radiated through her entire body.
Phillip twirled them in a circle again and again. “You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet. My heart is near bursting out of my chest.”
He gently lowered Julia onto the quilt and reached over to brush the hair from her cheeks and slipped the ring on her finger. Leaning down, Phillip tilted his face to the right, then kissed her so slowly and sweetly that all of Julia’s senses went into overdrive. Her breathing became deeper as billions of her nerve endings fired off rapidly. She craved Phillip’s kiss under the stars and the moon.
Breathlessly, Julia swallowed the lump in her throat and squeezed Phillip’s hand. “I love you, Phillip.”
Phillip held her face in his hands, kissed her gently, and moved his mouth to her ear. “I love you too.”
Julia’s blood thundered through her veins as he gently traced his fingers along the outer part of her thighs. Breathing hard, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the incredible sensations of his touch.
“Oh, my angel. You’re so sweet. So, soft and sweet.” Phillip placed tender kisses down the column of her neck.
Julia's chest heaved up and down from breathing so hard. With hoarseness, she said, “Phillip?”
Phillip wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. “Yes, my love.”
“Make love to me, Phillip.”
He chuckled. “I thought that’s what I was doing.”
She took another deep breath and said, “I’m serious. I want you to make love to me. You’re mine, Phillip Clayborn, all mine.”
* * *
The next day after church service, Julia ate lunch with her family in the dining room. The front doorbell chimed, and Ethel walked into the dining room seconds later. “Mr. Joseph, Phillip is at the front door and wants to speak to you.”
Joe looked over his newspaper and said, “Tell him to come on in here.”
Ethel nervously looked at Julia, and then back to Joe. “Well, Mr. Phillip says he needs to speak to you in private about Miss Julia.”
Julia’s eyes widened, and she straightened her back. Sloane spat out her coffee. Bunny stood and shouted at Julia, “Phillip Clayborn, over my dead body.”
Julia smiled at her mom and looked at her father. “I love him, Daddy.”
Bunny collapsed into the chair, and Miss Ethel ran to her. “Miss Bunny, Miss Bunny.” Of course, Bunny was over exaggerating for the dramatic effect.
Joe folded his newspaper, placing it on the table, and smiled at Julia. “I guess I’ll be in my study with Phillip.”
As Joe strolled from the room, Bunny shouted, “She isn’t marrying Phillip Clayborn, Daddy. You tell that young man I said, no siree.”
After a half hour of hysterics, Bunny calmed down. She let out an exasperated breath and said, “Julie, I want you to be happy, I do. I just know how it is to live without, and I never wanted you to live that way, ever. I’m not sure Phillip will ever have the means you’ve become accustomed to.”
Julia moved away from the table and went to her mom. She hugged Bunny tight, then released her and took a step back. “Mom, I love you with all my heart. But I won’t marry a man I don’t love, and I’m in love with Phillip. I appreciate everything you and Daddy have given me, but I don’t need a fancy house, the country club or even a closet full of clothes. I need someone who’ll love me, and Phillip loves me.”
Bunny released a deep breath and placed her napkin on the table beside her plate. She pushed the chair away from the table, walked over to the buffet, and poured a small glass of sherry.
She took a sip and then took another one. “I fell in love with your father a long, long time ago, and he fell in love with me. Your Grandmother Boatwright, God rest her soul, hated me. She called me a whore and slut behind your dad’s back on numerous occasions. I was adopted. Don’t look so surprised, girls. I meant to tell you, but the time never seemed right.”
Bunny sat back down at the table and sipped her sherry. “My birth mother, who I grew up thinking was my older sister, became pregnant out of wedlock, and the rich boy who got her pregnant refused to marry her. It broke her heart, but she refused to give me up. So, my natural grandmother adopted me as her daughter. Oh, they tried to be discreet and sent my mother away to relatives. But gossip thrives in a small town. So, we moved to Burkett Falls.”
Bunny looked at Julia and Sloane. “I found a letter after we buried Mama, or well, my grandmother. My birth mother and I fought like two wild cats. I was embarrassed and afraid my friends would find out that I was a bastard. So, my birth mother left in the middle of the night. She left me alone with my grandfather. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her since the day she left. If I could go back and change that day I would because I missed the opportunity of knowing my real mother.”
Bunny drained the rest of her sherry and said, “Granddaddy didn’t know how to raise a teenage girl. But from the moment I danced in Joe’s arms at the Harvest Festival, I was home. I told Joe everything, and he still loved me.” She wiped the tears from her eyes with a napkin. Ethel left the room and quickly came back with a delicate handkerchief and handed it to Bunny.
Julia said, “Then why wouldn’t you want the same for Sloane and me? Why did you put on airs? You judged me, you judged Sloane, and you judged Phillip. You’re a hypocrite, Mother. I’m going to wait in the foyer for Phillip.” Julia walked away without looking at Bunny.
But Bunny reached for Julia’s forearm. “You’re right. I am. I wanted better for you, and your sister. I never wanted the taint of my life to be yours.”
“I can’t, Bunny. I can’t talk to you right now. I’ve lived my life trying to please you. Give me some time to process what you’ve told me.” Julia left the room.
Sloane followed Julia out into the foyer. “You may have been a little hard on the old girl.”
Julia shook her head and plopped down in the wingback chair next to the study where her dad talked with Phillip. “I know I was horrid, but how could Bunny put us through all of that superficial bull crap after what she went through with grandmother’s mistreatment? It’s crazy.”
Sloane leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “Julia, I know you’re upset, but do you have any idea how hard it was for Bunn
y to tell us that? How hard it must’ve been to live a lie?”
The door to the study opened, and Phillip locked eyes with Julia and grinned. “Your daddy said yes.”
Julia ran and jumped into Phillip’s arms, kissing him all over his face. She tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Sloane stepped over to hug Phillip and Julia. “Congratulations on this battle, but you still have to win the war.” She pointed to Bunny in the dining room, and Phillip frowned.
Bunny walked into the foyer and looked at Phillip and Julia.
Phillip released Julia and went to Bunny, bowed and kissed her hand. “Mrs. Boatwright, I’ve asked your husband for Julia’s hand in marriage, and he has agreed. Will you give us your blessing too?”
Bunny smiled at him with tears in her eyes and glanced at Julia. She placed her hand on Phillip’s forearm and said, “I wish you both all of the happiness in the world.”
Phillip picked up Bunny and twirled her around, and yelled, “Yahoo.” Bunny giggled as he gently placed her feet back on the ground.
Julia ran over and hugged her mother. Holding Bunny’s hands, Julia said, “I’m sorry, Mom, for being so ugly to you in the dining room. Please forgive me. Let’s move forward and forget about the past.”
Bunny nodded and reached up on tiptoe to kiss Julia’s cheek, then went to Joe and circled her arm around his waist. With her hand over her heart, she said, “Why, there’s nothing to forgive, my angel. Why don’t y’all have some fun today? I’ll help Ethel with the dishes.” Joe smiled down at Bunny and kissed the top of her head.
Julia clapped her hands together. “Let’s go swimming. Phillip, you left a pair of your swim trunks in the laundry room.” She kissed Phillip lightly on the lips.
Draping an arm around Julia’s shoulder, Phillip said, “I’d love to go swimming on a hot summer afternoon.”
“Phillip, just so you know, Sloane is part of a package deal, okay?”
Phillip bowed before Sloane and kissed the back of her hand. “Then I’m doubly blessed.” Sloane blushed and gave him a big grin.
* * *
Standing with Phillip and Sloane on the sandy beach next to the blue pools of Burkett Falls, Julia said, “On the count of three, we’ll jump in together.”
Phillip yelled, “Three.”
Phillip, Julia, and Sloane ran and jumped into the chilly water. Julia plunged head first, taking long breaststrokes toward the Falls while Phillip and Sloane swam behind her.
Once the trio made it to the cliffs, next to the Falls, Sloane pulled herself up on the flat rock and sat on the edge. She tilted her face to the sun. “I don't think you need to climb behind the Falls. The current is too fast from the storms last night.”
“Aw, baby sis, let the good times roll. I want to stand under the Falls and wash my hair.” Julia and Phillip climbed to the natural stone steps leading to the back of the waterfall. She turned and yelled, “Come on, Sloane. It’ll be fun!”
Sloane shook her head no. Phillip held Julia’s hand and said, “Maybe we should listen to your sister.”
Julia shook her hand loose from Phillip and giggled. “You chicken?” Right before she stepped behind the Falls, Julia blew Phillip a kiss and said, “I love you.” The water rushing over the cliffs felt harder and faster than she remembered. Standing directly under the Falls, Julia stretched her arms out and up toward the sky.
Then she slipped and fell onto the slimy moss covered rocks.
Julia heard Phillip yell out, “Grab a rock, grab anything, I’m coming, Julie.”
Julia couldn’t hold on. The force of the rushing water cascading over the Falls made her plunge deeper and deeper into the blackness of the pool. She tried with all her might to swim to the surface, but it was no use, the Falls kept pushing her further down.
Nearing death, her lungs threatening to explode, Julia witnessed images from her past, present, and future seemingly paralyzed in what appeared to be a timeless state of mind. Julia didn't realize that time, or the essence of time manipulated around her. Julia fell forward into a prism of colored particles in reds, pinks, blues, and greens wrapping and bending in a spinning tunnel with no end.
Oddly, Julia could breathe again, which was strange in and of itself, as the brightly colored lights swirled around her. The vortex made her think of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz.
Then someone grabbed her hand, pulling her up—and out of the water.
Chapter 4
Present Day, Burkett Falls
A man tucked Julia under his arm while swimming sidestrokes to the sandy rock beach. He placed her on a flat rock, and then pulled himself up beside her. Julia stared at him in disbelief totally shocked by her surroundings. She knew him, didn’t she?
Julia openly stared at the man beside her. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The man looked exactly like Phillip except with blond hair and blue eyes.
He gently touched her shoulder. “You’re in shock. God knows how long you were underwater. Are you able to talk?”
In a split second, everything in Julia’s life changed. The only thing familiar was the majestic Burkett Falls. Concrete picnic tables and wrought iron grills were located around their property and people were swimming in the water she didn’t know. Phillip’s look-a-like guided her to one of the maple trees and pointed to the patchwork quilt. Tears flowed from her eyes because the quilt belonged to Phillip. He said, “Please sit down. I have some bottled water.”
Julia began to hyperventilate. Bottled water? Julia watched him rummage through what appeared to be a large purse or satchel but followed his request because her legs threatened to buckle any second. She trembled with fear and felt numb, completely numb, and at a loss for words. Her throat burned as he handed her the bottle of water. Not glass, hmmm. Her voice hoarse, she said, “Do you have a bottle opener?”
He reached over and twisted the top off with his hand and tilted his head. “What’s your name? Are you here with someone?”
Julia turned the bottle up and greedily drank the water. The thumping of loud drum music made her glance over her left shoulder, and she saw a group of scantily clad teenagers. A young man loudly recited a poem of sorts to the beats and waved his hand up in the air. Wizard of Oz….
Maybe I’m dead, and this is hell.
Julia looked back at the man and said, “What’s in the black box?” He held it in his right hand.
“It’s a phone. You know, a mobile. Maybe, I should call an ambulance. You may have hit your head.”
Julia shook her head no. No, no, no. This isn’t real. I’m dreaming. I’ll wake up. “That’s a phone?” She closed her eyes and said, “Tell me, do the Boatwrights still live in the plantation house?”
“Boatwrights? Come on. You’re kidding me. What’s your name?” He took another bottle of water out of the bag and handed it to her. Julia twisted the top like he’d done. It worked, and the top screwed off. After finishing the bottle of water, she handed the empty bottle back to him.
Julia drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I’m Julia Boatwright.”
The man choked on the water he drank, spewing it out on the ground. He began to laugh. “Good one. Then you’re a legend around these parts.” Still chuckling, he shook his head in apparent disbelief.
With the tilt of her head, Julia said, “Do I look happy to you? Am I laughing? And why in the Sam Hill would I be a legend?” Julia watched his fingers rapidly tap on the bright light of the telephone. “What are you doing?”
“I’m googling you.” He rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “It’s really you! Fuuuck!”
What’s googling?
Julia abruptly stood up and shouted, “Well, I’ve never in my whole life heard anyone use that kind of crude language. You, sir, have no manners.”
He stood, panting, and suddenly became very pale. “Wait, I’m sorry. Look, and read this article. You’ll know why you’re a legend.”
Julia frowned at him and grabbed the
box out of his hand. There was a photo of her senior high school picture. The headline read, Burkett Falls Annual Celebration of Julia Boatwright. Under her photo, she read the date spanning her disappearance, 1948-2017.
Tears spilled as she read the rest of the article describing her disappearance into thin air.
Based on the article, her parents had passed away years ago.
The annual celebration brought folks in from everywhere. Psychics and séances tried annually to revive her spirit from the other side. “Are you saying that I’ve been missing for sixty-nine years?” Shaking her head in disbelief, she said, “What’s your name?”
Julia had known before he answered, “You disappeared in the summer of 1948 and this is 2017. My name is Phillip Andrew Clayborn, the third, but my friends call me Andy.”
Julia walked toward the cliffs with her arms wrapped around her waist. She couldn’t believe it. Phillip must’ve married someone else and had a child. Andy walked up behind her and reached for her hand. She turned around and wiped the tears out of her eyes. “Sloane, is she still alive?”
“Yes. Sloane is still alive. She lives in Sunnyside Meadows, a place for the elderly. Please sit back down.” Andy led her back to the quilt.
She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Who did Phillip marry? Is he still alive?” Julia began to sob, and he rubbed her back.
“Phillip married Amelia Grierson, and sadly, both are no longer with us. Look, I’m freaking out so, I can only imagine how you must feel, but we’ll figure something out. You got here. Surely there’s a way to get back.” Andy gently turned her shoulders around to face him, tracing the back of his fingers along her jawline. “I can’t believe it’s you. My grandfather loved you until the day he died.”
Julia jerked away from Andy and interrupted with sarcasm, “I’m sure Amelia just loved that. What did he do, wait a month? A year? How long did he wait before he got married?” She became increasingly angry thinking about Phillip doing the same things to her sorority sister that he did to her last night.