Immortal Light: Wide Awake (7 page)

Lucy unbuckled her seat belt and stared out
the front window. The forest was still foremost on her mind. She
couldn't believe how real it felt. It was so vivid. She couldn’t
help but feel that both events had actually happened.

Lucy flipped open her phone
and texted Kat, who responded immediately.

Lucy:
i had the dream again

Kat:
the forest one with the guy?

Lucy:
yeah
…

Kat:
and??

Lucy didn’t know what else to say.

Lucy:
idk, it’s weird. the guy is so

familiar.

Kat:
u think it’s the library guy or

someone else?

Lucy:
i don’t know

Kat:
i’m sure you’ll figure it out

Lucy:
yeah, i guess

Who cares; it’s just a
dream
, Lucy thought to herself as she
leaned forward to unlock the door of the truck. “Get ahold of
yourself, Luce; he’s just a stupid, AAAH!” she shrieked, as she was
startled back into her seat by a face looking in the
window.

Standing outside the truck, Benjamin Raven
looked almost as startled as Lucy as he reached for the door handle
and pulled it open.

“
Are you okay? I didn’t mean to
scare you.”

“
Yes, I’m fine. What are you doing
here?” Lucy said in frustration, not sure if she was still
dreaming.

“
Jack is attempting to make a
surfer out of me.” He smiled and gestured to the familiar black
Camaro parked only a few spaces down from her father’s pickup. It
sported a roof rack that securely held two long
surfboards.

Lucy could see the black collar of a wet suit
beneath Benjamin’s t-shirt. She pulled herself up to the front
seat.

“
I didn’t know you could do real
surfing on the Oregon Coast,” she said, still trying to wake
up.

“
Oh, you can surf anywhere there
are waves, if you’re competent enough.” He winked, reaching his
hand up to help her down.

She declined his hand, preferring the rigid
door frame of the truck, as her body was wobbly and still weary
from her nap.

“
Are you competent enough?” she
asked, holding the hair out of her face and squinting to look up at
him with the bright sky as a backdrop.

“
I suppose in the loosest sense of
the word you could say I’m competent, but I’ve had a few years to
work at it since we moved here.”

“
Years? How come I’ve never seen
you around before this summer?” Lucy suddenly came more alive with
query.

“
I don’t know. I’ve been
around.”

“
Did you go to Marshfield last
year?”

“
No. Was everything okay with your
car?” Benjamin asked, suddenly changing the subject.

He smiled pleasantly and the
daylight caught his eyes and reflected their mystical green rays
back at Lucy, making her feel somehow frozen. She had to shake her
head subtly to break free.

“
Oh, yeah! Thank
you so much! Tell your brother I … I don
’
t even know what to say. Just thank
you. I can
’
t
believe he did that.
”

While enthusiastic, she felt her
gratitude wasn’t adequately expressed; but she didn’t know what
else to say.

“
No thanks required; that’s just
what he does. But, I’ll relay the message,” Benjamin
said.

Suddenly remembering her conversation with her
father she asked, “Do you know a Peter Raven?”

“
I do. He’s my brother. I think he
knows your dad.”

“
Yeah, he does,” she responded,
having all too quickly reached the end of that topic of
conversation. Searching for a new subject, her eyes fell on the
surfboard-clad Camaro. “Where is Jack, anyway?”

“
He’s in the candy
shop.”

No sooner had he spoken the words
than the jingle of the bell hanging from the candy shop door rang
through the air like a death toll. With acute panic, Lucy snapped
her head toward the sound. Coming down the painted white steps,
Lucy saw her father with a paper bag chockfull of saltwater taffy.
He was engaged in an intense conversation with a man that Lucy had
only seen in the glow of her headlights. Jack was recognizable by
his size and swagger. He was carrying an equally packed bag of
taffy. Both men were talking and chewing as Lucy’s mother, Laura,
trailed behind them. Lucy's heart stopped as she prayed their
subject of conversation didn’t involve her mode of
transportation.

“
Jack loves that stuff. I don’t
really see the appeal," Benjamin said, interrupting her anxiety
attack.

Lucy didn't respond because
she was too focused on the conversation between her father and
Jack. As the two men got closer, she sighed with relief. She heard
what she assumed was a dream come true to her father: a passionate
discussion about basketball or something else in the sporting
world—something he didn
’
t get too much of in a house filled
with women. If she knew her father at all, they were miles away
from talking about her car hitting a deer.

“
The man is the logo, for crying
out loud. How could anyone even argue that he’s not one of the ten
best to ever play the game?” Lucy had never heard her father talk
so adamantly about anything.

“
I totally agree,” Jack
said.

But before he could say more, Lucy
tried for her father’s attention.

“
Uh, Dad?”

“
Just a moment, Goosey.” James
barely gestured in Lucy’s direction, as if to put her on
pause.

“
James,” Laura calmly said to him.
She was the only person in the world that could bring her
ridiculously distracted and single-minded husband back to
reality.

“
Yeah, just a minute,” James
began, before meeting his wife’s gaze, a look that left him
paralyzed and useless. “Yes, love?” he responded forcedly to
Lucy.

“
Daddy, this is Benjamin. I was
telling you about him in the truck.”

James snapped immediately back to
Earth. He turned and faced Benjamin, sizing him up. His expression
was a little suspicious. Before he could say a thing, Benjamin
raised his hand to the man that stood nearly eye to eye with
him.

“
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr.
Higgins.” He articulated every word in perfect respect for the man
to whom he held out his hand.

It was apparent that James could sense that
Benjamin was at least attempting to be a gentleman as he took the
hand in front him and gave it a firm, all-business
handshake.

“
It’s nice to meet you, Benjamin.”
James shook a few times and released Benjamin’s hand.

“
Thank you. I see you and Jack
have more than a few things in common.” He indicated to the bags of
taffy.

James glanced down at his handsome assortment
of candy and suddenly remembered his bantering companion and turned
to him.

“
Well, I suppose great minds think
alike, as you know a good ball club when you see one.” He looked
around the circle of people and addressed the group in a jovial
tone. “What are you boys’ plans for lunch? Why don’t you join us
for fish ‘n’ chips, my treat?”

“
Well, how can I say no to that
offer?” Jack replied, looking at his brother.

“
Sounds good to me,” Benjamin
said, then turned to Lucy. “What do you think? Could you stand us
being around for lunch?”

Lucy blushed, but before she could reply
Benjamin looked around to Laura.

“
Actually, I should probably be
asking your sweet mother what she thinks, as she’s the one who has
to put up with all of us.” Benjamin shot an enthusiastic smile to
Laura Higgins.

“
Well, I was thinking of something
a little more sit-downy than a fish stand. Why not the restaurant,
James?”

James looked disappointed as his
shoulders slouched. “I was really looking forward to fish ‘n’
chips,” he maturely whined.

“
If I may,” Jack cut in, “why
don’t James and I go get fish, and you three go to the restaurant?”
He raised his hands and his eyebrows waiting for a
consensus.

“
That sounds like a great idea,”
James responded enthusiastically.

“
I suppose we could do that,”
Laura said, looking to Lucy and Benjamin, who both nodded in
approval.

“
It’s settled, then. We’ll meet
back right here in what, an hour?” James inquired of his
wife.

“
Perfect,” Laura said, flashing a
smile around the circle and tossing her purse over her arm. She
grabbed Benjamin with one hand and Lucy with the other saying,
“Let’s go, you two.”

As the three of them walked arm in
arm, Lucy looked behind her mother’s back at Benjamin. He met her
glance with a look of his own: a subtle smile. She felt strangely
attached to Benjamin, though she barely knew him. As they held each
other’s gaze, she saw something so appealing about his eyes. Not
only were they beautifully bright, but they emanated a sense of
calm goodness. No matter what she thought of all the guys her age
at school, she knew that he was a lot different, she just couldn’t
pinpoint exactly how.

The restaurant was decorated
to look like an old fisherman’s cabin; fishing nets were draped
over the wooden walls and an assortment of authentic fishing
paraphernalia related to the ocean covered any empty spaces. The
trio was seated at a table that looked out over the pier. Through
the window at the front of the restaurant, James and Jack could be
seen across the street climbing the stairs to the small shack that
housed “
The World’s Greatest Fish and
Chips
.” The waitress set down three menus
as Benjamin helped Laura and Lucy into their chairs and sat down on
the end of the table between the two women.

“
Why thank you, Benjamin.” Laura
shot an impressed and approving glance at Lucy.

The situation was still a little awkward for
Lucy since she really wasn’t quite sure what her relationship was
with Benjamin. Were they even friends?

“
Okay, Benjamin, if you’re not
allergic to crab, you have to get the crab cakes. They are so good
here. I promise you won’t order another thing here as long as you
live,” Laura said.

“
Then I’m convinced, the crab
cakes it is,” Benjamin replied as he slapped his menu shut and took
a sip of his water.

“
So, how long have you two known
each other?”

Laura had wasted no time beginning
the inquisition that Lucy knew was coming. She was quite adept at
finding out all the pertinent information. She was a very educated
woman, with a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a Master’s from
UCLA. But, investigation seemed to be her real talent, especially
when it came to her only child.

“
We don’t really know each other
that well, to be quite honest with you,” Benjamin stated rather
directly and honestly.

“
Well, I wondered, because I’ve
never even heard your name before today.”

“
We met at the library this
summer. That’s really all there is to tell,” Lucy said, wanting
badly to change the subject away from her non-relationship with
Benjamin.

“
So do you go to Marshfield High
School, then, or North Bend?”

Benjamin was more than eager to answer Laura’s
every question.

“
Well, I’ve been doing mostly
correspondence courses, but I think I’ll give high school a shot
this year. I’ve always wanted to be a Pirate.”

The two shared a laugh, and Lucy
kept a sharp ear on the conversation while perusing her menu. She
didn’t feel comfortable with the small number of topics these two
would have to talk about, so she decided to steer the outcome in
her own direction.

“
Hey, Mom, Benjamin taught me how
to fold a flag.”

“
Really? How did that come up?”
Laura asked, with a little too much enthusiasm.

“
That’s how I met him. He helped
me put the flag up at work.”

Too fast, Luce. Slow it
down
, she said to
herself.

“
Well, that’s interesting. Were
you a Boy Scout or in ROTC? That doesn’t seem to be something the
average young man knows how to do these days.”

“
Boy Scout, yeah, but not for very
long; we moved so much that I wasn’t really able to do much with it
except learn a few handy skills.” Benjamin smiled, taking another
sip of his water.

The rest of the meal went smoothly. Benjamin
never broached any questionable subjects, and Laura seemed pleased
that he was such a respectful and respectable young man. Lucy just
sort of picked at her meal, only eating enough to look like she had
eaten something.