The Touch (Healer Series) (7 page)

  
“Do you ever regret it?” he asked, searching
her eyes for the truth behind whatever words she spoke. He hadn’t seen it
before but it was evident now. Both eyes still had the crystal clearness of a
Healer.

  
“I thought I did, right after he passed. But
that’s life. People come and people go. You have to accept that, even as a
Healer. It’s the great conundrum we face. We either have to give up everything
and risk losing something we love, or keep our gift and still risk losing
something we love. When I looked at the bigger picture – my beautiful daughter,
granddaughter, the life we had together for the years we had- it all made
sense. It wasn’t a bad thing. His passing was a new beginning, a new opportunity;
just another new start after a big decision had been made.”

  
They sat in silence for a moment until Gram
broke it with a whisper.

  
“What did you see, when you touched me?
Believe it or not, I almost miss the visions.”

  
AJ hesitated. He’d never been asked that
because no one had ever known what he was doing. He wasn’t sure he should tell
her.

  
“Nothing.”

  
“Don’t patronize me, AJ. I know you saw something.
I
felt
it. I know the difference in
feeling between a clear vision and one that ends badly.”

  
“I saw you sick. I didn’t see death, though,”
he quickly clarified, looking down at his shaking hands.
 
“I can’t read Addie very well. Her visions
come too fast. And there’s no judgment in them.”

  
Gram shook her head. It wasn’t as though she
was shocked he saw sickness in her. She’d had a long, healthy life. It was just
the odds that something would come along to change that.

  
“Maybe that’s because the visions are
different. They aren’t those of healing, they’re those of a different feeling.
Love maybe. Like with my George.”

  
“They can’t be love, Gram. First of all, I’ve
known her a few days. Not only that, I don’t really even
know
her! You said it yourself; you waited a century before ever
finding George. I’ve been doing this only for a few mortal years. Plus,” he
hesitated, not wanting to sound like a complete jerk, “I don’t think I’d ever
give up what we do. It’s too important to me. If I can stop someone from
feeling the pain I did when I lost my mom, dealing with the loneliness that
comes with this is a price I’m willing to pay.”

  
“Addie’s mom did less time as a Healer and
gave it all up. There is no time requirement on this gift; there is only the
requirement that you use it wisely. No one can tell you what to do or how to
use it; that choice is yours. Give it up, keep it, it makes no difference to
me. All I ask is that you don’t hurt Addie. I see the way she looks at you. I
can still sense the way she feels for you. She’s good at locking her feelings
away except in the end, she’s still a young woman with a delicate heart. If you
choose not to give up your current life, you know you’ll have to leave here
eventually to keep up the façade of why you don’t age. If that’s the case, don’t
get her invested in something she’ll never have.”

  
“How do I know what to do?” he asked, as
confused as he was the day he first discovered his ability.

  
“I can’t answer that for you. What I can say
is that the feeling you described, not being able to see visions of her
clearly, those are indicators. It may be a once in a lifetime thing, I don’t
know. Those feelings are involuntary and happen with a person you are supposed
to be with. You can still make the choice of what to do. It is in your
control.”

  
She stood up, picking up a few more plates
and walking to the kitchen door before glancing over her shoulder in the same
way her granddaughter did.

         
“But if you
hurt her, you’ll deal with me.” She winked, and continued on to the sink. AJ
picked up a couple dishes, brought them into the kitchen, and lost himself in
thought.

4
Old Friends

“Listen
Helen, I’m going to take a ride to see a friend, probably stay the night there.
I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow, and I’m just
gonna
head straight to work.”

  
Helen was always up late and always early to
rise. AJ hadn’t been surprised to see her reading at the kitchen table just as
the sun was rising. He had wanted to get into the shop early and perhaps
convince Bob to let him head out early as well.

  
“That’s wonderful! Glad you have a friend
close by.”

  
“Just a couple hours away.
Close enough.”

  
“If you need anything, I’ll write our phone
number down for you. Call any hour; we’ll be here for you. But first, you
better have some breakfast.”

  
She quickly arose from her chair, starting
the morning clanging of the pots and pans as she created a spread fit for a
king. AJ nodded, turning down the hallway that led to his room. He had showered
the evening before at Grams. With the abysmal dreams still overrunning his
mind, he wanted to wash away the memories – and the sweat – before heading to
go to work.

  
He laughed to himself, knowing as soon as he
got there he’d be sweating again.

  
The cool water felt good against his body. He
hadn’t been used to such heat in a long time. In addition to manual labor,
either. Living in an apartment, there’s not much yard work to do and what
little there was he rarely did anyway.

  
He let the water hit him and run down, taking
a moment to relax and wash away the recollection of the previous night’s bad
dreams. As his soapy hands reached his stomach, he gave himself a pep talk
about trying to get in a little workout here or there. With all the good food
Helen had been whipping up for him, he was going to have to work a little
harder at keeping his abs visible. Seeing as how there was probably no gym, he would
need to find alternative measures.

  
As he dried off, he glanced out the window of
the bathroom and saw Addie and Rose eating their breakfast at the picnic table
in the yard. He found himself checking out the windows often in an effort to
make sure Joseph wasn’t there. To think of how the bully had treated Addie and
what Rose could have gone through, made his skin crawl.

  
He didn’t know what to make of his anger. He
knew the rules of his gift prevented him from being anything more than her
friend. Love not a reasonable outcome, especially since he remained unsure of
what exactly he was feeling. He hadn’t been seriously interested in
relationships anyway. In fact, he hadn’t felt anything towards a woman in a
very long time.

  
Looking in the mirror, he reiterated to
himself what his goals had been as he began his search for a new home: to
settle down a bit, stay low key and perhaps become a part of something bigger.
He worked at convincing himself that with Addie interested in guys like Joseph,
she needed a really good friend in her life.

  
He threw some clothes in a bag, got dressed
in his typical tank and shorts, and headed down for breakfast before heading
out to work.

  
He had done pretty well at avoiding being
touched because he had grown used to skirting away from others’ hands. Helen
had a knack for putting her hand on his back or shoulder like he was her own
child. Hers was the only touch he didn’t seem to mind – as long as he didn’t
have to return the gesture with a touch of his own.

  
Breakfast was the usual ten course meal, and
he laughed as Matthew told him how much. The sweet old couple liked having him
around, mostly because it meant bigger meals. AJ enjoyed their hospitality more
than anything. It was comforting to feel part of a family again, even if only
temporarily.

  
They had been so kind to him, trusting him
without proof he could be trusted. As he watched them across the table, he
couldn’t help but envy the way they smiled and spoke to each other, as if they
were the only people in existence. They still held hands like teenagers as they
walked their property at night. AJ noticed he hadn’t seen any photographs of
family or children and knew better than to ask. He figured perhaps the lack of
family might have lent itself to their openness of a young stranger.

  
After helping Helen with the dishes he walked
out to his car and tossed his bag in the trunk. As he situated his meager
belongings, he heard footsteps approaching. Addie thought to herself how much
it would anger Joseph, until she remembered he wasn’t around anymore. She had
been using the drunk as her excuse to converse with AJ and she found herself
searching for a new one.

  
“You leaving?” she asked, hands on her hips
and what he almost thought could be a look of disappointment on her face. “You
just got a job, I thought.”

  
“Going to work actually,” he replied,
shutting the trunk. “Then off to see an old friend. Just for the night though.
I’ll be back first thing tomorrow. You’re not
gonna
go calling Joseph back now to keep you warm, are you?”

  
And old AJ is back, he thought to himself
with a cringe.

  
“Didn’t mean to sound harsh, Addie. Sorry,”
he continued. “We seem to have a way with words around each other, don’t we?”

  
“Two sarcastic sons a’ bitches,” she said.
She didn’t seem too offended by his tone. “So you’re coming back tomorrow?”

  
“I am. I promise I’ll get your truck
completely fixed before I skip town.”

  
He said it sarcastically, but it was true.
Whether or not he decided to stay, he wouldn’t back out of his promise to her.

  
“Who’s this friend? Is she of the female
variety? Or one of your old buddies who you wrestle with?” she said with a
laugh, punching him in his bicep.

  
He didn’t even flinch, even with the strength
she harbored. AJ sensed she was fishing for more details and he reminded
himself again that keeping things friendly was the way he needed to go. It
seemed he was reminding himself of that more often than not lately.

  
“Just an old friend.”
He turned his back to get into the car and looked back before he did. Pointing
towards Rose, he continued in his steady tone. “I’ll see you guys later. Come
by with your truck to the shop tomorrow and I’ll take a look. I’ll fix it up for
you at a much better price than you’ve ever seen.”

  
“Deal,” she said, stepping back. He seemed
more withdrawn than he had before. Maybe, she thought, she had really turned
him off. Not that she had wanted to turn him on. Or had she?

  
She watched as his car sped off into the
southern morning, the trees swaying in the breeze he left behind. The willows
made a beautiful sight when the wind blew through their branches.

**************************************************

  
AJ was beginning to understand exactly why
Max moved out to a more calming atmosphere years ago. While his friend still
made trips into the city, being able to relax and recuperate in the country
seemed like a wise idea.

  
A part of AJ felt like he was turning his
back on the world, wasting his talents by settling in a town like Lee. His
talents weren’t something he asked for though, and that was what he struggled
with. He was born different and didn’t know how different until he was becoming
an adult. The world had changed for him in many ways in such a short period of
time that he felt lost in a way that he feared he might never find his way out
of.

  
It wasn’t something he particularly wanted
either. He had done a great deal of good in the past few years and he wanted a
break. He ached to be normal again, even if only for awhile. He struggled with
not knowing much more about his gift than Max had shared with him over the
previous few years and those were merely bits and pieces of a legend handed
down over generations. His mother hadn’t had the gift as far as he knew. AJ
figured maybe she had given up the gift when she fell in love – as that’s how
Max had explained it to him. After speaking to Gram earlier in the week, he was
now sure that’s what had happened.

  
His uncle had died when AJ was just a little
boy after they were both in a car accident that neither should have survived. It
was soon after meeting Max that he realized his uncle probably healed him and
lost his own life doing it and AJ lived with the guilt of that loss as well. It
was months before he could even look at himself in the mirror after that.
Combined with having lost his mom and having not been able to save her, he had
set out to hide behind his gift so that maybe something he did would make him
feel better.

  
As he pulled up the dusty drive after nearly
two hours on the road, AJ could already feel Max’s presence growing stronger.
He liked being able to sense other Healers. When he had run into others out in
the world he also felt a sense of ease, even though Max was the only one he had
ever communicated with.

There
remained a sense of security in knowing that others were going through the same
experience and were out there amongst the crowds, feeling exactly as he was.

  
They would pass each other as strangers and
with a knowing glance continue on their respective ways. Sometimes words would
be exchanged through their minds and although AJ found that often such a weird
feeling, he also found comfort in this hidden talk. While he longed to make
friendships with them he knew what the unspoken agreement was – they had to
spread themselves out to help others. Being clustered together in a group would
only serve to benefit them and not the greater good of the world.

  
He heard Max’s music before he saw his friend
and teacher rounding the curve of the driveway up to the door of the old,
wooden house. It wasn’t much to look at, yet then again, it was all that a
house should be - a warm place that served as shelter; a place to gather and
eat and sit with friends. AJ never needed décor and color palettes to enjoy the
time he spent with friends and Max was the same.

  
“Hey Max!” AJ nearly shouted, bounding out of
the car and wrapping his friend in a bear hug. They patted each other’s backs,
smiling from ear to ear. Max was starting to look older, nearly into his 40s,
and the gray hairs speckling his hairline gave it away. AJ still found it
exacerbating that even though Max finally looked to be 50, the man had
discovered his gift at 20 making him nearly 170 years old in human years.

“How
you doing, old man?” he joked, giving Max a few playful punches.

  
“Who are you calling old?” Max asked,
laughing. “I look damn good for being nearly 200.”

  
“I guess I’ll know how that feels in the next
century,” AJ laughed. “That still sounds so weird to say. I don’t know if I’ll
ever get the hang of this.”

  
“You will, AJ, one day at a time. Come on in!
I’ve been waiting for you! How was the drive?
You hungry?
I have some food in the fridge from dinner.”

  
“Not hungry, man,” AJ responded, grabbing his
beat up old duffle from the trunk. “You should see the spread where I’m
staying. Found a nice bed and breakfast in a little town, and the woman, Helen,
is an amazing cook. She loves to cook, too. It’s just Helen, her husband Matthew
and me but man, she cooks for an army.”

  
“Nice to hear you are finding some
relaxation,” Max said, patting his friend on the back. “It’s about time you
stepped back a bit and took care of you.”

  
“Hard to take care of yourself when there’s a
world full of people who might need you,” AJ replied. He looked at Max knowing
full well his old friend completely understood. “The guilt slowly seeps in when
you’re just sitting around as time ticks by.”

  
“We can talk about other things you know,
AJ,” Max said with a little hesitation. “You know I’m here for anything. But if
you want to, we can just talk sports.”

  
Max knew how hard the first years are for a
Healer figuring things out, learning to control everything. For a Healer with
no guidance in his first year, he couldn’t imagine how hard life had been for
AJ. The kid held it together pretty well.

  
“We’ll just talk about whatever comes up, how
about that? So what have you been up to man?”

  
“Nothing much, just living, working.
Traveling into town here and there.”

  
“You should come visit me sometime. You’d
love where I’m staying.
There’s cute girls
, too.”