“So, Eliza, sounds like you’ll be starting the New
Year to the chime of Big Ben, huh?” She asked.
The thought hadn’t occurred to me. Every year Viva
threw a big New Year’s Eve bash and I always attended. The next day Jane and I
had a tradition of writing down our New Year’s resolutions and sticking them in
a jar but before we put in our new one, we always revisited the one from the
year before and laughed about our success or failure. It was strange to imagine
starting the year any other way, much less thousands of miles away from Jane.
“I guess so.” I responded with a frown.
“Babe, don’t look so disappointed. Maybe this year
you’ll get a kiss from someone other than me!” She joked with a twinkle in her
eye.
My cheeks flushed.
Sparing me any further embarrassment, Jane
snatched her coat from the hook and yanked the door open without glancing at
me.
“Ok, I’m off. See you later tonight babe. Love
you.” She said and yanked the door behind her.
I couldn’t help but notice the amused smile on her
face.
19
“You’re going to London?!”
Bryn shrieked with excitement.
Pete fell back from the table feigning as if he’d
been blown away. “Easy there. You sound like she just told you she’s going to
Mars.” He joked.
I nodded shyly. “Yeah. We leave right after
Christmas.”
Bryn, Pete and I were sitting in the back of
Bishop’s Tea Room for our annual Christmas gift exchange, not that we ever got each
other anything serious. In fact, each year we tried to top the goofy gifts from
the year before, occasionally resurrecting gifts from years before that were
particularly amusing. Ren wasn’t there. When we’d invited him, he said he was
busy helping Nan with some things and couldn’t make it. I knew that was just an
excuse. He was well aware of the tension that had been building between Bryn
and me over all the time I spent with him. As the year drew to a close, I
needed to show both Bryn and Pete that their friendship was still important to
me whether Ren was around or not.
“So… are you going to meet Ren’s parents or what?”
Bryn probed solicitously.
Pete rolled his eyes at her but I could tell he
was curious too.
“That’s the plan…” I mumbled, thinking through the
web of lies I’d have to keep straight when I got back home. It wasn’t going to
be easy pretending that I had met Ren’s parents when I most certainly wasn’t.
“Hmmm. That’s a big step.” Bryn shot me a sly
grin.
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Not really!
Don’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is. They just don’t want Ren to
travel alone. So, I get a free trip. That’s it.” I groaned.
“O-k.” Bryn smirked.
“How about some presents?” Pete interjected,
trying to change the subject.
“Good idea. I’ll go first!” I offered.
When I’d planned the gifts I wanted to give Bryn
and Pete, I had been feeling nostalgic. While in previous years I’d always
opted for the most ridiculous item I could find that reminded me of each of
them, this year I’d been looking back on our friendship in a different light.
Things were changing for me, while things for them were staying relatively the
same. Lately, many weekends when I’d usually be hanging out with them on Main
Street or heading out to shows, I’d been with Ren. Bryn, Pete and I were still
friends, but our days of wasting time together were fewer and further between
and I knew that trend would inevitably continue.
I stooped under the table and pulled two poorly
wrapped packages from a bag.
“Hmm, I think it’s safe to say Macy’s isn’t going
to hire you for the season.” Pete said sarcastically.
“Haha.” I said smirking back at him, “here,” and
handed him a floppy package.
“Thanks.” He said grinning.
I handed the other package to Bryn.
“Thanks, Eliza.” She said brightly.
As they tore through the overly taped wrapping I
watched both of their expressions flash from surprise to glee as they
recognized the items in their hands
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Pete said laughing
as he held up a too small t-shirt before him.
“That’s right. You are now the proud owner of an
autographed Rabid t-shirt. The legend lives on.” I said. Rabid was a garage
band comprised of bunch of former Port Rune high school kids that used to play
in town when we were in junior high. They’d long disbanded when the band
members went off to college.
“I can’t believe you still have this. Classic.
Thanks, Eliza.” Pete said with a truly appreciative grin.
“Ahhh, I remember these!” Bryn gushed and leaned
over to hug me.
I’d given her a string of three elastic necklaces
containing beads we spent hours and hours putting on necklaces and bracelets
when we were in elementary school. To make the necklaces, I’d dismantled all of
my old jewelry to make something new for her. I knew she’d recognize the beads.
“I’ll put it on right now!” She said excitedly.
“Glad you like them.” I said feeling happy that my
gifts had the affect I’d been hoping for – to remind my friends of happy
memories.
“Ok, ok, now me!” Bryn said bubbling with
excitement.
She reached under the table and retrieved two
perfectly wrapped packages with curling gold bows. My gift looked so perfect I
felt a little guilty ripping off the paper.
The item inside made me tear up. It was a copy of
Anne of Green Gables. Not only was it a book I loved when I was younger but
Bryn had always said that we were like Anne and Diana.
“Bryn… thank you.” I said softly.
“Sweet!” Pete remarked.
As touching as my gift was from Bryn, I was a
little surprised to see that Pete looked to be holding a pair of tickets in his
hand.
“How did you get these?” He asked Bryn. “I thought
they were sold out.”
Bryn grinned coyly. “Oh, I have my ways.”
Spying the writing, I realized that Bryn had given
Pete tickets to an annual winter music festival that was held every year in
Boston. The tickets were not only hard to get but expensive. That was much more
of a gift than we usually gave each other. I eyed my friends curiously.
“Ok, guess it’s my turn.” Pete said slapping two
small presents before us wrapped in newspaper.
“Ooh, these look fancy.” I said ripping into mine.
“Niiiice, Pete.” I laughed when I saw my gift. It
was road map of the Port Rune area.
“Oh, that’s not all. Open it up.” He said with a
wicked grin.
I unfolded the map. He had outlined in different
colored markers the routes from my house to various places of interest in the
area.
“Wow! I’ll never get lost again, Pete. Thanks to
you.” I said laughing.
I glanced over at Bryn who was quietly studying
the back of a CD case. Her cheeks glowed pink. My eyes darted in Pete’s direction.
As he watched her, he shifted self-consciously in his seat.
I could see that it was a CD Pete had made because
the small printed descriptions on the back of the case that Bryn was reading
were in his handwriting. What I couldn’t see were the actual descriptions but
from the look on Bryn’s face, they meant a lot to her. And from the look on
Pete’s face, they meant even more to him.
At that moment, I realized how self-involved I’d
been. I’d been so wrapped up in my own world that I’d obviously failed to
notice that my life wasn’t the only one changing. I felt hot all over, a little
embarrassed and a little sad.
Bryn’s gaze flitted over Pete. “Thanks.” She said
softly.
Pete shifted nervously in his seat and grinned.
“Hope you like it.” He said.
“You know I will.” Bryn beamed back at him.
Pete looked around and cleared his throat. “Anyone
need a refill?” He asked.
“Sure.” Bryn and I both answered.
Then Bryn turned her attention back to me, happily
twisting her fingers in her necklaces.
The moment passed and everything was back to
normal. I smiled thinking, our
new
normal.
20
The weeks before Ren and
my departure for London flew by in such a flurry of semester end exams and holiday
preparations that I barely had time to worry that I wasn’t ready for our first
assignment.
On Christmas morning, I awoke groggily after a
night of heavy food and fun with Jane and Adam. A steel gray sky emitted flat
light through the gauzy curtains of my bedroom. As the heating vent blew air
over the window causing the curtains to billow, I caught glimpses of fat fluffy
snowflakes floating past the glass.
I lay in bed, enjoying the quiet winter show like
confetti at a party drifting past my window when a glint of yellow caught my
eye. I turned toward my nightstand and found a shiny foreign object. The
object, most certainly, had not been on my nightstand when I fell asleep. I
crept tentatively closer to investigate.
It was a gold bracelet stretched out on a torn
piece of white paper containing a note scrawled in thick black ink.
For your
other wrist. Merry Christmas. Ren
My heart fluttered and heat rushed up my neck. I
hadn’t thought to get Ren a present, though it seemed so obvious that I should
have. I lifted the intricate piece of jewelry off the paper.
The length of the bracelet was a series of thin
linked circles. The clasp was a set of arms and hands held up in a u shape, one
on each end of the bracelet. I studied the curious design but couldn’t figure
out how the ends were meant to join. Perplexed, I held one end of the bracelet
in each hand and carefully brought them together.
As soon as the golden fingertips touched they
sprang to life and grasped each other firmly. I was so shocked by the bizarre
animation that I nearly dropped the bracelet in my lap. Instead, with shaking
fingers, I set the now fastened bracelet on my nightstand and picked up my cell
phone to text Ren ‘thank you.’
* * *
“Please stow all carry-on luggage beneath your
seat or in the overhead compartments.” A heavily made-up flight attendant
shouted down the aisle with feigned cheer.
I flushed from the exertion of muscling my
backpack under the seat ahead of me in the hot dry air of the plane and
squirmed out of my pea coat. As I settled back into my seat, my eyes darted
nervously to Ren’s pack. He was kicking it in an attempt to jam it under the
seat and I worried we might draw the cranky flight attendant’s attention.
Despite the layer of spells protecting us, I’d nearly panicked when I heard the
warning chanted from the airport loudspeakers that travelers should not accept
any items given to them by others. The mysterious object was concealed in Ren’s
pack still tightly wrapped in brown paper.
Ren flopped back into his seat with a heavy sigh,
yanked his water bottle out of the pocket of the seat in front of him and took
a long swig.
“Would you like some, Eliza? It’s important to
stay hydrated on these long flights you know. Helps with the jetlag.” He
offered earnestly.
I wriggled around in my seat. This was the longest
flight I’d ever taken and the only one that spent an extended period of time
over the ocean.
“No thanks.” I mumbled and unconsciously began
twirling my new gold bracelet.
“It’s the symbol for heka.” He said close to my
ear, laying his fingertips over the sliding metal.
I glanced down. After texting Ren ‘thank you’ for
the gift, I’d been so busy with Christmas day festivities and packing that I
hadn’t spoken to him about it further.
“Oh! Thank you... again.” I babbled, an
embarrassed blush passing over my cheeks. “I meant to ask you about it. I…
wasn’t expecting a present.” I said feeling guilty that I hadn’t broached the
subject first but Ren had already turned his attention to the stream of
passengers marching down the aisle next to us.
“Made by elves. They make a lot of jewelry. Mine
the metal and jewels themselves.” He added quietly, still distracted by the
bustle in the aisle.
I coughed, clearing my throat. “Ren?” I asked
pointedly.
His eyes continued to rove about the cabin.
“Ren.” I said again louder.
“Oh, yes?” He asked sitting back and turning his
attention to me.
“Rubbernecker. I was going to ask how you snuck
the bracelet into my room.” I snipped playfully.
“Eliza, we’re on assignment. We need to know if
anyone of interest is on this plane.” He responded.
“As for the sneaking… elfish jewelry has elfish
ways.” He added with a sly smile.
The thought of being trapped on a plane for eight
hours with a ‘person of interest’ concerned me more than the antics of my
jewelry.
“Do you sense anyone?” I asked.
Ren peeked past me across the two other sets of
seats in our row before responding.
“No, not yet. Do you? Search around… see if you
feel any signals.” He said.
I scanned the cabin but felt nothing unusual from
the passengers around us. Suddenly, my wrist began to feel hot and raw. I
abruptly stopped spinning the bracelet and clasped my hands tightly in my lap
to keep from fidgeting.
“By the way, why didn’t you ever tell me that some
of us live such a long time?” I whispered.
Ren scanned the faces of the passengers around us
carefully before answering. “It’s alright Eliza. They can’t understand you. One
of the spells Nan cast on us protects our conversation from the ears of others.
That is, unless the other is one of us, which is why we need to be careful but
it seems we’re the only ones here, so far.” He said with a wandering gaze.