Sanctity (19 page)

“Yes!!” I was so happy that something seemed
to have gone right that day.

While dinner was cooking I ran upstairs to
check my e-mail.  Charlie hadn’t forgotten me and I quickly
read his hasty e-mail.  He was able to go Sunday but only for
an hour or so.  He wanted to meet at 10:00 am and hoped to be
done by 12:00 pm.  I wrote him back and asked about a helmet
and whether there was anything else I should bring.

He must have been online because a minute or
so after I sent my e-mail I got a reply with a list of other things
I should do before our ride.  Most of it made sense to me and
were pretty self-explanatory.  Do a little stretching, no
loose fitting clothes, he wrote, wear sneakers, bring water, eat a
banana, bring gloves if you have them and glasses or
sunglasses.

“Eat a banana?”  I’ll have to ask him
about that, I thought, “Maybe it’s a joke.”

Dinner was just about ready when I got back
downstairs.  I helped Margaret set the table for us and told
her what Charlie had said about riding. 

“That should be fine.  I can’t think of
anything pressing that we need to do.”

We sat down to a nice dinner and as soon as
I took the first bite I understood why Margaret chose the pork
tenderloin and why they sell out so fast.  It was very tasty;
the pork was tender and juicy and the glaze added a nice sharp
flavor to the meat.

“Another winner,” I said.

Margaret smiled, “I think I have an idea
that may take some of the sting out of the Spring Formal.  Why
don’t you try and get some other couples to join you.  I could
spring for a limo; maybe even get some of the other parents to
pitch in.  It’s a win-win situation.  It will relieve the
parents of the trouble of getting everyone to and from and it will
make it seem less like a date between you and Jake.”

I could have just kissed Margaret, “That is
an awesome idea!  I’ll pitch it to Danielle; she knows
everyone and can get the word around.  I’m sure we can find
another couple or two to go with us.”

After dinner I ran up to my room to tell
Dani about Aunt Margaret’s idea.  I was really hoping the plan
would work out.  Margaret was right, with the extra couples it
would seem more like a group activity than a date.  We would
just be a collection of friends spending a fun night out
together. 

The prospect put me in a much better
mood.  I tapped out an e-mail to Danielle and one to Charlie
as well.  I included Margaret’s proposition in my e-mail to
each hoping Charlie and his date might consider being one of our
other couples.  Once I sent the e-mails off I took my shower
and got ready for bed. 

Margaret was at her desk in the family room
when I got back downstairs.  It was later than I imagined and
I felt a little sleepy so I quickly told her that I e-mailed
Danielle and Charlie about the limo and said my goodnight.

Kaley, as always, followed me upstairs and
took up a position at the foot of my bed.  I switched the
light, crawled beneath the covers and fell fast asleep.  I
dreamt that I was taking Kaley for a walk, just as I had earlier in
the night.  We walked towards the main road, also just like we
had done earlier and she was straining on her leash pulling me
towards a car parked along the sidewalk.  There was a surreal
moment when I realized that I was dreaming and that none of these
things were really happening but when I tried to wake myself I
couldn’t.

The driver’s door opened and a man stepped
out.  He turned to face me and I was paralyzed with shocked
recognition.  I dropped Kaley’s leash and she joyously bounded
up to him, “Michael,” I was breathless with the excitement I felt
at seeing him.  He ruffled Kaley’s ears as she reared up and
placed her paws on his chest.  All I could do was stand there
in trembling disbelief.  He smiled and reached out a hand
motioning me to come to him.  Kaley lay down at his feet as I
approached him. 

When I was finally standing directly in
front of him, Michael wrapped his arms around my shoulders and
buried his face in my hair.  “I’ve missed you,” he whispered,
his voice sending shivers down my spine.  He brushed my hair
over my shoulder and bent as though to kiss me on the soft flesh
between my neck and collar bone.  It was not an ordinary kiss,
though; there was a needle sharp pain that caused a sudden delirium
to settle over me.  I felt an exhilarating sensation that I
had nearly forgotten; some phantom tendril of myself and of Michael
coiling, stretching and twisting, binding us together. 

He took my face in his hands, “Now you will
be a part of me forever.”

Kaley suddenly bounded to her feet; she
began growling and bristling at something behind me.  Michael
looked up from my face and I turned to look in the opposite
direction.  It was Michael but it wasn’t Michael, standing a
few hundred yards from where we were.  He was holding a dead
tree limb and pointing to where we stood. 

“I haven’t forgotten,” he dropped the limb,
turned and disappeared into the night. 

My heart was racing and Kaley was licking me
to wakefulness.  My head was throbbing to the same beat as my
heart and I felt a blinding pain behind my eyes.  I couldn’t
focus for a moment and it took several minutes for me to collect
myself and accept that I was safe in bed.  Once I felt that I
was able to I drew myself up and I attempted to make my way to the
bathroom.  I got as far as my bedroom door and managed to give
the knob a turn but the exertion was too much for me through the
pain in my head.  I blacked out and fell into the
hallway.  Kaley was hysterical and ran back and forth between
me and the stairway several times before rearing up and scratching
on Aunt Margaret’s door. 

Margaret was upset about being woken and
about to admonish Kaley when she saw me. 

“Lily,” she screamed.  “Lily,” she
rushed to where I was laying.  “Lily, please,” she was
brushing the hair from my face and gently tried to wake me.
 She listened for my breath and checked my pulse while Kaley
helplessly watched.

“Ugh,” I moaned as I started to come to.

“Lily, oh, Lily.  Don’t move, not until
I know you’re alright.  What happened?”

“I’m not sure Aunt Margaret.  I was
walking Kaley and…”

“Walking Kaley, at this hour?” Margaret was
very upset but managed to curb her anger while she waited for a
response.

“No, no, it was a dream.  I mean, I
don’t know, it’s all distorted now.”

“Did you have a bad dream, dear, is that
all?”

“Yes, I think I must have.  I have a
really bad headache and I must have gotten up too fast and, I guess
it just hit me.” 

“Does it still hurt?”

“Only if I move.”

“Ok, don’t move.  Let me see if I have
something for migraines.  Just rest here for a minute, I’ll be
right back.”

Before she went to look for the migraine
medicine Margaret got a washcloth and ran it under the cold water
for a few seconds.  She put it on my forehead and had me close
my eyes.  Kaley, satisfied that the worst was over scurried
toward me and laid down at my side.  I smiled thinking how
comforting it was to have her beside me and I started to feel
drowsy. 

It was bright and sunny when I woke.  I
immediately glanced to my clock and prayed that I hadn’t missed my
riding date with Charlie. 

“No, there’s still time,” I thought.

I hurried downstairs to eat a quick
breakfast.  I saw Margaret’s bedroom door was open and knew
that she was up already. 

“Why didn’t you wake me?  Did you
forget I am meeting Charlie today?”

“You don’t honestly think you are still
going, do you?”

“What do you mean, of course I am, why
wouldn’t I?

“After last night?”  Margaret raised
her eyebrows in disbelief.

“What do you mean after last night? 
What happened last night?  Did I miss something?”

Margaret frowned and studied me for a few
seconds.  It was obvious that I was completely unaware of
anything unusual happening and she was trying to decide whether to
talk to me about it or not.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine, great actually.  I can’t
remember sleeping so well since…since…well, I can’t remember
when.”

“Really?”

“Really.  What’s going on Aunt
Margaret?  Was I sleepwalking or something?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“What’s so funny?”  I asked.

“Nothing, sweetie.  Come have something
to eat.”

“Charlie said I should have a banana.”

“OK,” clearly Margaret was still guarded
about whether or not she was going to let me go riding with
Charlie.  I couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t let me.  I
started to think that Margaret had some crazy nightmare about me
and was worried about me going.

I tried to sound understanding as I asked,
“Did you have a bad dream last night, that I got hurt or
something?  Is that why you don’t want me to go?” 

“Something like that, yes.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry, I promise
you, I will take it easy and be safe.  I’m sure Charlie isn’t
going to let me do anything too difficult.  He’s not like
that.”

Just then the phone rang.  Margaret
answered it, “It’s Charlie,” she handed me the phone.

“Hey Charlie, what’s up?

Charlie told me he got my number from
Danielle and that he hoped I didn’t mind.  He was worried that
it was supposed to rain later and wanted to know how soon before I
was ready to leave.

“I was just about to polish off my banana
and head out,” I said looking to Margaret for agreement.

She looked undecided for a moment then gave
me a little nod.  I hung up with Charlie and rushed upstairs
to find something to wear.  I hastily brushed my teeth and
tied my hair back in a ponytail.  In less than 5 minutes I was
ready to leave.  As we pulled out of the driveway I started to
feel a little remorseful about bullying Margaret into letting me
go.  I didn’t know why it was so important that I ride with
Charlie that day.  I tried an apologetic smile but she was
clearly disappointed and the smile she sent back was a weak
one. 

“I’m sorry Aunt Margaret.  If you feel
that strongly about my not going, I’ll just tell Charlie something
has come up when we get there.” 

“No, it’s OK Lily, you try and have some
fun.  I won’t worry too much.”

She was happy that I had apologized but I
could tell that she was still distracted by whatever it is that
made her want me to cancel the outing.  A handful of minutes
later we arrived at the trailhead where I was supposed to meet
Charlie.  He was already there and waved as we pulled up
beside him.  He was looking over the two bikes he brought;
checking the air pressure in the tires and wiping the chains with
some kind of lubricant.

“Hey,” I said as I hopped out.

“Hey, are you ready to ride?”

“You bet.”

“When should I come back,” Aunt Margaret
asked. 

“No worries; my mom can give her a ride
home.  We’ll drop her off when we’re done.”

“Are you sure, it’s no trouble for me to
come back.”

“Nope, I already worked it out with my
mom.”

“OK, do you have a cell phone in case of an
emergency?”

Charlie patted a pocket near his shoulder,
“Yep, no worries.”

I
said 
goodbye
 to Margaret and asked Charlie if there was anything I
could do.  He had me straddle his brother’s bike and told me
to put my feet on the pedals while he held me and the bike
up.  He wanted to adjust the seat so I’d be more comfortable
while riding.  After I hopped off he loosened some kind of
bolt and yanked the seat up a bit.  We went through the
procedure a few times before he was satisfied.

Then he started explaining the gearing to me
and I was a little lost at first but he saw this and said “Don’t
worry about your left shifter.  Leave it where it is and only
use the right.  All you have to do is click here to make it
easier to pedal, if it gets too easy click this back lever and it
will make it harder again.  He had me put my hand on the
shifter and showed me how to work the levers. 

He handed me a helmet and buckled his into
place.  “Let’s roll,” he said.

It took me a second to get going.  The
chain was trying to find the right gear after all the clicking I
had done during my brief lesson.  Once it settled into place I
ran through the gears first all the way down then all the way back
up and finally back down one or two to where I felt comfortable
pedaling.  Charlie was coaching me as we went along.  The
first mile or so was all straight with no inclines so it was a good
time for me to practice getting comfortable with the gears.

“Try and keep your cadence steady.”

“My what?” I asked. 

“Try to find a rhythm to your pedaling and
keep it at a steady pace.  When you can’t keep that pace, then
you know it is time to shift either up or down.”

“That makes sense,” I thought to myself.

It took a while for me to
get used to it.  Occasionally I clicked the wrong lever
thinking it was the right one and either made things too hard or
too easy on myself.  I lost my 
cadence
 and had to work myself
back up or back down to it.  After about 10 minutes I started
to enjoy the ride a little more.  I became a little more
confident as we went along and even though I knew he was humoring
me, I hoped that Charlie was having a good time
too. 

We went down a hill, up a hill, around a few
corners, nothing extreme.  As my skills improved Charlie
picked up the pace.  Each time he did I managed to keep up
with him.  I started to find that I was shifting automatically
and began to wonder what it would be like if I tried the left gears
and how they would help or hinder my riding. 

I did a little experiment and moved the
lever to get to a stronger gear.  The change was immediate and
though my cadence had slowed down I was actually riding faster
without working quite as hard as I was a moment before.