by Rayns, Lisa
“Geez, she broke a nail! Relax everyone, I’ll fix it.” Tina’s hands pulled me out of my chair and pushed me into the bathroom. “Let me see!” she cried, snatching the box from my shaking hands. Her eyes widened before she shrieked, “Oh my God!”
I knew exactly what she saw: a dazzling antique necklace with diamond teardrops running around the neckline; one small ruby heart in the center.
“Spill it!” Tina commanded, slapping a hand to her hip. “Who is he and how many times have you slept with him? I can’t believe my mother still thinks you’re a virgin!”
My clouded head started to clear at the accusation. “I…I…What?”
“Yeah, you’re a good actress, little missy. Way better than me. I had no idea that our family possessed so much talent. Put it on!” She removed the necklace from its case and let it dangle in front of me.
I shook my head adamantly. “No, I can’t.”
“Put it on or I will,” Tina threatened, holding up the jewels to her neck.
“Fine.” I pulled my hair up and turned around but when the cold metal touched my skin, I felt the ground move below my feet. I steadied myself against the sink and looked at Tina through the mirror. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?” She leaned closer, her face turning serious. “Ah, Elizabeth…I think this is real.”
“What?”
“Yeah, and what was he…twenty-three, twenty-four? Do you think he stole it?”
I giggled into the mirror. “Do you think?”
I knew the necklace couldn’t be real but the thought of someone stealing something to give to a woman was romantic, even if it was wrong. Instinctively, I wondered how I could work that into a story.
“It’s not funny, Elizabeth. If he stole it, you could go to jail. Now do you know him or not?”
“Yes,” I lied. “Fine, I have some classes with him, and he’s rich beyond belief. Happy?”
“No, damn it!” she said, presenting her best distressed pout. “Does he have a brother?”
I smiled at her, widening my eyes innocently. “Only child.”
Mr. Interested’s face played through my dreams that night, and I spent the following day in a haze. I was already a month into the summer college term at Portland State, and that meant a doubled workload, but for the first time in my life, school was the farthest thing from my mind. I couldn’t concentrate on my classes. I had so many questions, but the instructors didn’t hold the answers. At noon, I stepped outside to inhale some fresh air. I hoped to get him off my mind, but being alone only made it worse.
Thunder cracked in the sky, rain poured down, and my only response was: I wish he’d call me.
Of course, he didn’t have my phone number, and I didn’t even know his name but I wanted to see him again. He was mysterious, a puzzle I needed to solve, and it didn’t hurt that he wasn’t interested in Tina.
Pulling my raincoat around me, I sat down under the overhang and hugged my precious purse to my chest. Precious, because the necklace nestled safely inside. I wanted to have it with me in case he showed up again.
When Tesla’s “Love Song” began to play, I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at the unknown caller display before I said, “Hello.”
“May I see you again, Elizabeth?” the familiar eloquent voice asked.
My stomach muscles constricted, and the air seemed trapped in my lungs when my name rolled out of the phone. It couldn’t be him…could it? “Ahh…uh…who is this?”
“Forgive me, we met yesterday. I called your school, and they said you’d be on lunch break.”
I tried to play it cool through my shock. “Did they also give you my cell phone number?”
“No. That was a bit trickier,” he said with a chuckle. “May I see you again?”
“Yes,” I said hastily. “I only have an hour but if you’re…close.” The phone fell from my hand, and my jaw dropped when he stepped around the corner.
He wore black jeans, a blue dress shirt, and a smile that bordered sinful. In one gloved hand, he held a black umbrella, in the other, a single red rose that he held out to me. “For you,” he said when I didn’t move.
I closed my suddenly dry mouth and cleared my throat. Questions pummeled my brain, too many to focus on just one. “Thank you,” I managed as I took the rose. I smiled, noting the thorns had been removed.
“I suppose you have a lot of questions.”
“You read my mind.”
He smirked cutely and held out his hand. “Would you care to go for a walk?”
With a nod, I grabbed my phone, jumped to my feet, and slung my purse over my shoulder. The shuffling noise brought the necklace to mind but nothing seemed more important than taking his hand at that moment. When I did, my whole arm tingled.
The umbrella sheltered us from the rain as he led me away from the building. The air smelled fresh, invigorating, and his gorgeous brown eyes gazed into mine with an unhidden interest. I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend my lunch hour.
“Tell me about your studies,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows and twisted my face. “You want to talk about school?”
“Most definitely.”
“Well, okay. I’m enrolled in a four-year writing program but I started early, and with all the extra classes I’ve been taking and the summer terms, I think I can do it in two.”
“And after that?”
“After that, I work at a diner every weeknight for six hours and ten on Saturdays. Sundays I reserve for homework.”
“What about after college? What’s your plan?”
I flashed a clever smile. “Then I’m going to write a novel about all the life I haven’t lived.”
He looked away for a moment, appearing absorbed. When he finally spoke, his face was icy, distant. “This is what you want from your life?”
Intent as he seemed to be about the question, I felt completely disoriented by the change in his demeanor. His expression suggested that he wanted me to say no. “I…I think so. I mean, yes. Of course it is. Why else would I say it?”
“It’s a good plan,” he said, without emotion.
“What about you? I don’t know anything about you.”
He paused and turned to gaze into my eyes for a long time as if he were considering what to tell me. Finally, he said, “Someday I will tell you everything about me. That day is not today.”
“When will I see you again?” I asked, sensing a goodbye.
The smile returned to his face. “Your schedule doesn’t allow you much free time but I should like to meet you for your lunch break every day if the weather permits.”
Excitement washed through my body. “What do you mean, if the weather permits?”
“I have other responsibilities on sunny days, but I am released from them if…it’s raining, for instance.”
“You’re going to make me hope for rain.”
“As do I,” he said, holding my gaze.
Warmth rose to my cheeks. “So what do you do?”
“I operate several nightclubs.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I thought out loud.
“My work and my responsibilities are two separate things.”
“I see.” I wanted to delve further into the subject but with time ticking away, I decided against it. When his hand tightened on mine, I found the gesture reassuring. “What’s your name?”
“I’m hoping it will come to you.”
“Your name? You’re hoping your name will come to me?” I asked incredulously. “You want me to guess? Like Rumpelstiltskin?”
“No. I want you to know it.”
“So tell me and then I’ll know it,” I said logically.
He chuckled in response and placed the umbrella in my hand. He held my other hand near his mouth. “You must get back now, Elizabeth, but I will count the moments until I see you again.”
A sudden anxiety overtook me at the thought of him leaving. We had time left, but when his cool lips me
t the top of my hand, I nearly melted into a puddle of mindlessness. I couldn’t think, I could barely breathe when he stepped away from me.
When he rounded the corner, I took several deep breaths and then returned to the school. I sat through the rest of my school day jotting down names on pages of paper instead on concentrating on my classes. I chastised myself for losing my good sense around him. Why hadn’t I asked where he lived, or why the hell he was so interested in me? I’d been so flustered, I even forgot to return his necklace.
****
With a splash of cold water on my face, I finally cleared my thoughts and slipped into my work uniform––black pants and an oversized, pink polo shirt with the diner logo embroidered on the front. When I stepped out into the empty diner, the smell of fried meat greeted me. Pots and pans clattered together in the kitchen as the cooks prepared for the dinner rush.
Brenda met me at the register wearing the same uniform as me, but hers sagged on her model thin body. She handed me an apron and then ran her fingers through her short, blonde hair. “How were your classes?”
I shook my head as I put on the apron. “I barely remember them today.”
“Well, you are in college now,” she teased. “I barely remember anything from those years.”
“Don’t you mean months?” I corrected.
Brenda gasped in jest and threw a rag at me. “The fact that I got kicked out after six months just proves how important it is for you to finish. One of us has to make it out of this hole.”
I replaced the rag on the counter. “You can still go back, you know. You’re only twenty.”
Brenda rolled her eyes. “Those college parties were killing me. Besides, my goals have changed. Now, I only want to see my name in the credits of your first bestseller.”
“It’ll be there,” I promised.
It’d been my plan since I was sixteen. I’d worked and saved relentlessly so I would have a nice nest egg built up by the time I received my Creative Writing degree. After that, I would be free to run away and begin my career as a New York Times bestselling author. So far, my essays had landed me enough scholarships for a mostly debt-free ride through school, and the plan was progressing without a hitch.
My novels would contend with the classics, love stories that shook people and asked them what they were waiting for when love was there, right before their eyes. I smiled, imagining a real romance with Mr. Interested.
“Just don’t let a guy distract you!”
Her words startled me. Kissing and relationships weren’t part of my rigid plan. Once I graduated, I’d have my whole life for that but the man in my head made me want to make an exception for the first time in my life. I wanted to make every allowance in the book, for him…for love…
You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Elizabeth?
The reminder that I didn’t know his name or much else about him dulled my smile.
When the dinner rush ushered in, I assumed my duties as waitress. I took orders, bussed tables, and delivered food to hungry customers until well into the evening. I was topping off a man’s coffee at a window-side table when I heard my name.
“Elizabeth,” it called like a whisper in my ear.
I looked up to see Mr. Interested leaning against a car outside the window. The sexy smile on his face made my knees go weak, and my heart skipped a beat inside my chest.
“STOP!”
The frantic male voice pulled my eyes down to my hand. Coffee poured out onto the table and seeped onto the bench seat. There goes my tip.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, sir!” I cleaned up the mess as quickly as I could and ran out to the parking lot only to find no one. That odd sense of longing returned as I stood there alone.
Brenda stepped behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”
Puffing out my cheeks, I tried to hide my disappointment. “I’m seeing things.”
“What’s going on with you? I’ve never seen you so…unhinged.”
I sputtered a laugh. “I’d like to know too.”
****
Sunny day after sunny day disheartened me and made the rest of the week suck. He didn’t show up for my lunch breaks but at least my concentration returned, and I caught up on my homework.
On Thursday morning, I dressed in jeans and a bright, red blouse. I’d been wearing red every day because it reminded me of rubies. The more I looked at the necklace––and I did so daily––the more it enticed me. Touching the stones made me feel closer to Mr. Interested.
With just enough time to catch the 7:00 a.m. bus, I hung my book bag over one shoulder and my purse over the other. As I opened the door, Tina stepped in front of me. Her black clothing reminded me of a burglar but her blue eyes sparkled, her skin glowed, and her silky, blonde hair contrasted the dark color to make her appear even more beautiful. I frowned.
“Where do you think you’re going, Dear Cousin?”
“Ah, school. What are you doing here?”
“No school today. You’re coming with me,” she insisted with a smug grin.
Feeling annoyed, I glanced at my watch and took a breath. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence twice in one year?”
Tina flashed a mischievous smile and seized my backpack before I could respond. She placed the bag inside the house and pulled the door shut. “I’ve made an appointment for you.”
“What do you mean, you made an appointment for me?”
“You’ll see.” Gripping my forearm, she pulled me across the lawn to her blue convertible.
I followed her to the car, stopping in front of it at the same time my bus departed two blocks down the street. “Damn it,” I mumbled.
She let go of my arm and giggled as she went around to the driver’s side. “Don’t tell me you’ve never played hooky before.”
I scowled and crossed my arms, not wanting to mention that my favorite thing about school lately was hoping for a surprise lunch date. “Some people want to learn.”
“Good,” she said seriously, “because that’s what we’re going to do today. Get in.”
The sunny day and my curiosity prompted me into the car. Besides family gatherings, Tina and I had never hung out, and her sudden interest raised too many questions to ignore.
“Do you have that necklace?”
“Yeah, why?”
She started the car and pulled away from the curb. “Okay, so here’s my theory. That guy crashed the party, maybe because he was on the run from the cops. He needed a place to stash the stolen necklace until the heat died down.” She glanced over at me to make sure I was following. “You watch. One day he’ll show up on your doorstep and expect it back so he can run off into the sunset and enjoy his fortune. He’ll marvel at his clever little scheme.” Another glance. “Pfft. No wonder he wasn’t interested in me! I’m sure he could tell I would have flaunted that thing all over the city by now.”
Her logic disheartened me and squashed out all the fantasies I’d been having about Mr. Interested really liking me. He hadn’t asked for the necklace back the last time I’d seen him, but the fact that I didn’t know his name, whereabouts, or much else about him only supported her theory.
“That does explain things,” I grumbled.
“Have you worn it yet?”
“No. Not since the bathroom at the party.”
“I sent a picture of it into a local jeweler, and he wants to see you. He’ll be able to tell you where it came from and if it’s stolen or not.”
“Why would you do that?” I shrieked, a sense of alarm rising to my brain.
Stopping at a red light, she eyed me calmly. “I don’t expect you to understand, Dear Cousin. When a man ignores you it means nothing but when a man ignores me, there’s a reason, and I can’t let you go to prison not knowing the truth.” When the light turned green, she stepped on the gas. “I’d love to come in with you but…”
After she rattled off several excuses which made it abundantly clear that she didn’t
want to be involved if something went wrong, I stopped listening. When she parked in front of the jewelers, I did the responsible thing and called the diner to take the night off of work in case the police arrived to arrest me.
“It’s for the best,” Tina said. “Oh, and his name’s Mr. Cromwell.”
I shot her a glare before I exited the car and accepted my fate.
“Hi there!” A petite brunette behind the counter gestured to the glass cases full of sparkly jewels when I walked in. “Can I show you something?”
“No, thank you,” I said, trying not to look nervous. “I’m here to see Mr. Cromwell.”
A portly man with wire-framed glasses emerged from a doorway in the rear of the building. “Miss Tarkson, I presume?”
When I nodded, he waved a hand toward the door. “Right this way please.”
I followed him into an office and sat down on the other side of his desk when directed. So far, so good. I hadn’t been arrested yet, but then again, the necklace hadn’t been verified either. I waited nervously as he situated himself behind the desk, a task that seemed to take forever.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking you to bring it in but I must say I am curious. That necklace, if it’s the one I’m thinking of, hasn’t been seen since shortly after it was commissioned.”
My eyes widened and I blurted out, “Was it stolen? Am I going to be arrested?”
Mr. Cromwell held up his hands and gave me a comforting smile. “Calm down, Miss Tarkson. I can assure you, no one will arrest you for anything that happens here today. Even if the necklace is a stolen piece, I am not what you call a snitch. I appraise, buy, and sell jewelry, that’s all.”
He seemed sincere so I let myself relax a little. “What did you find out?”
“May I see it first? There’s no sense in getting your hopes up if it’s not the one I’m thinking of, and of course, if it’s not genuine.” His eyes lit up when I handed him the case. “You didn’t tell me you had the box as well. From the picture I received, I had guessed it was The Alicia so the name on the front tells me I was on the right track. Now, let’s see if it’s authentic.”