Love Immortal (16 page)

Collin walked over to a grassy area under a
tree, and sat down, leaning his back against the trunk. Jewell sat
next to him. They hadn’t really said anything at all since the car
ride here. At breakfast they had laughed about the powdered sugar,
but for the most part, they both seemed to be comfortable just
sitting in each other’s company.

Jewell sat down in the grass beside Collin.
He adjusted his position a bit so that she could lean back against
him. He sucked in a long fragrant breath of her hair as he wrapped
his arms around her waist and she snuggled into his lap.

“What are you thinking?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking
about what it’s like to be here, with you.”

Jewell smiled and closed her eyes. “That’s
exactly what I was thinking.” It was so hard to think about
anything else when she was with him, especially with his arms
around her. She assumed the tingling fire she felt throughout her
body would fade after being with him for a while, but it hadn’t.
She felt lighter than air when she was with him.

“Jewell.” She heard her name. It sounded like
it was coming from far away. “Jewell.” She felt warm lips touch her
cheeks. Her eyes slowly came open; his arms will still wrapped
around her waist. She moved her hands to cover his. She turned and
slowly, reluctantly, sat up. “You fell asleep.”

“I’m sorry. What do you want to do now? We
could walk by the St. Louis Cathedral or….”

“It’s time to take you home. You have to work
tonight, remember. And I think you really need to get some
sleep.”

Jewell hadn’t realized how tired she really
was. Watching the sun dance hypnotically off the endless waters of
Lake Pontchartrain as Collin drove her home added a weight to her
eyelids that she was having trouble lifting. She listened to the
song playing softly on the radio “Please allow me to introduce
myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste: I've been around for a long,
long year stolen many a man's soul and faith.” She rolled the words
around in her head, thinking of Collin, as she continued to stare
out at the brown, endless water.

“Okay,” Collin said, “I need help from
here.”

Jewell opened her eyes and looked out the
window trying to get her bearings on where they were. They had just
left the Causeway and were headed north. “Okay, um, just keep
following this road to East Boston and head west. Then follow along
on 21st. I’ll tell you when to turn. She watched as the landscape
slipped away behind her. “Left here. I’m down on the right. The
blue house.”

“Cute. Is this the house you grew up in?”

“Yeah. It’s the house my mom and dad bought
when they first got married. I’ve lived here my whole life. Dad
talked about moving some after mom died, but I think there was too
much of her here to leave.”

Collin stared at the house wistfully. “I’ve
never had a place to call home. My memories go with me wherever I
go. That’s all I ever take with me.”

Jewell didn’t know how to respond. She
watched him, his face introspective. Finally, he looked at her. He
leaned across the seat and kissed her cheek.

“Will I see you again?” Jewell asked. This
whole morning had been like a dream, something ephemeral that would
disappear the moment he left.

“Tomorrow morning? Or would you rather I wait
for you outside the hospital before your shift?”

“Tomorrow morning I guess. I think I can last
that long.”

He got out of the car and walked around to
open Jewell’s door. He held out his hand to help her out. As she
turned toward him, he took her hand in both of his, and then pulled
it to his face. Turning her hand, palm up he gently kissed the
inside of her wrist. Instant fire flamed up her arm and through the
rest of her body. “Tomorrow morning then,” he whispered looking
into her eyes, his lips inches from her wrist.

She turned, reluctantly, and walked toward
the house. She didn’t look back. She was afraid that if she did, he
would be gone, validating her fear that it had all been nothing
more than a dream.

Jewell was glad that her father wasn’t home.
She was tired, and even though she had told him about Collin, she
didn’t want to explain Collin. She wasn’t ready to explain her
relationship to her father. This was the first time she had ever
really had a boyfriend, if that’s what Collin was – somehow, she
wasn’t quite sure about what her relationship with him was, and she
just didn’t feel like she could talk to her father about boys. She
felt a sudden stab of pain; she should be talking about this with
her mother.

She crawled into bed and fell quickly asleep.
Again, she had the same dream; there was a large house, several
people sat in a room painted pink. They were arguing, but this
time, both she and Collin were there. Again, she knew that the
conversation involved her, but this time, the conversation was not
about just her, but her and Collin; no, her being with Collin.
“She’s not one of us.” Her alarm buzzed loudly, waking her from her
dream.

She pulled herself from her dream, thinking
of the only part of the conversation that she could understand,
“She’s not one of us.” What was that supposed to mean? Was she just
dreaming, or subconsciously questioning her feelings about
Collin?

As she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her
eyes, she smelled hamburgers. She smiled to herself. Her dad must
be cooking dinner. She shook her head, the corners of her mouth
pulling into a smile. It was funny; she used to always know her
dad’s schedule. She always knew exactly when he would be working at
the firehouse, and when he would be home. But in these last couple
of…couple of what? Days? Or had it been weeks? She hadn’t really
thought about anything but Collin.

Jewell joined her father in the kitchen where
he was making dinner. He set a plate with a hamburger and French
fries on the table in front of her. Then he set his own plate on
the table across from Jewell and sat down facing her. He took a big
bite of his hamburger and chewed it slowly, watching his daughter,
almost as if he was measuring something in her face. He finally
swallowed and picked up a French fry. He held it in his hand for a
moment, “So, how was your date with Collin this morning?”

“Dad, it wasn’t really a date. We just went
out for coffee.”

“So, what exactly is your relationship with
this boy?” He asked, this time probing, grilling her about Collin’s
intentions.

A horn sounded from the driveway outside.
Jewell grabbed her tote and flung it over her shoulder. She shoved
the hamburger into her mouth and grabbed a handful of French fries
and a Coke from the refrigerator. “Gotta go Dad. I’ll see you
later,” she said as the door slammed behind her.

Watching his daughter leave, Thomas McKean
idly wondered exactly when that would be.

Jewell grabbed the door handle to her Focus
and slid into the driver’s seat as Ashley moved into the passenger
seat. “Ash, your timing couldn’t have been better.” Jewell shifted
the car into reverse and pulled onto the street.

“Dad asking questions about Collin?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“He called me yesterday after you called him
and asked me for the 411 on Collin.”

“What’d you tell him?” Jewell’s voice was
worried. She trusted Ashley implicitly, but she didn’t know how
much she wanted her father to know about Collin yet.

“Let’s see…I told him that he’s about 6’2”
with beautiful blonde hair, and eyes that have the power to
hypnotize. That it was clear that his intentions toward you were
indecent, and you are planning to run away with him to Vegas to get
married.” She looked at Jewell smugly.

“Oh God Ash! Really? Did you really tell him
that?” The anxiety in Jewell’s voice was palpable.

“Of course not! Do you really think that I
would tell him that?” Ashley tried to sound indignant. “I told him
that he seemed like a really nice guy. That he was polite, and very
respectable.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really. I mean, what was I supposed to
say? Oh, and he died, came back to life, and healed from injuries
that should have killed in him in less time than it takes a skinned
knee to heal?”

“No, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little
nervous. I mean, not only that, but I really think I love him Ash.
Does that sound weird? He’s the first guy I’ve ever really liked,
and I feel like I would die without him. You’ve had lots of
boyfriends, is this normal?”

“Gee, thanks. You make it sound like I date a
different guy every week.”

“You know what I mean. It’s like, when he
holds me, the whole world stops. Nothing around us matters, just
him and me.”

“Wow. You really have it bad. Honestly
Jewell, I don’t know. I can’t really think of a time when I felt
that into a guy. I mean, there were guys that I really liked, but
it’s not like I couldn’t live without them or anything. They were
fun, and I enjoyed spending time with them, but I couldn’t see
spending the rest of my life with them or anything. But maybe it’s
just because I haven’t met the right guy. Who knows, maybe you just
got lucky and hit the jackpot on your first try.”

“Maybe.”

“When are you going to see him again?”

“He’s supposed to come by the hospital
tomorrow. You don’t mind taking my car home again, do you?”

“Nope. It’s a nicer ride than mine.”

“Thanks.” It was obvious that Jewell‘s
thoughts were elsewhere. Ashley let Jewell be alone with her
thoughts.

When they drove into the parking garage at
the hospital, Jewell suddenly looked at Ashley. Her eyes were
bright and her cheeks were flushed. “He’s here.”

“Who’s here?”

Jewell hit Ashley jokingly in the arm.
“Collin, duh!”

“I thought he wasn’t coming until
tomorrow.”

“I didn’t either, but he’s here, I know it.”
Jewell jumped out of the car and started running for the door.
Ashley reached into the back seat and grabbed their bags and
started walking quickly towards the hospital. She wanted to be
there for Jewell in case Collin wasn’t there. As she reached the
door, she saw Jewell, snuggled in Collin’s arms. She smiled, and
walked past her into the hospital.

“I told you not to come until tomorrow! I
hate that you drove all the way out here just to see me for five
minutes.” Jewell could hear her voice cracking with excitement.

“I couldn’t go to sleep tonight without
hearing you tell me good night.” He smiled.

“Well, then, good night. Sweet dreams.” Her
voice was almost a whisper.

“My dreams are always sweet when I dream of
you.” He bent down and pressed his cheek against hers. His skin a
fire against hers that she was sure he must feel as well. He turned
his head and gently kissed her cheek. Then he drew back, taking her
hand, and kissed her on the inside of her wrist. “Until tomorrow,
Honeysuckle.” He smiled and turned towards the garage. Jewell
watched him until he disappeared into the shadows.

Chapter 20

Collin didn’t feel like going home. He had
been spending too much time at home. It also seemed a little
crowded for his taste. He was used to being alone with his uncle;
having so many people in the house seemed a little weird. The house
was big enough. It was a large sugar cane plantation home built in
the 1800’s. It had parlors and grand ballrooms along with fourteen
bedrooms for residents and guests.

Collin had taken one of the rooms, Dot and
Carl had one, Ann and John had one, Gladys had taken one, and Percy
had one. That left nine available bedrooms, and yet, the house
still felt crowded.

Collin spent a lot of time in his room,
ostensibly to read, but it was more to avoid some of the weirdness
that seemed to be going on in the house. He also felt like the rest
of the family was having conversations which they did not want him
to be party to. He felt uninvited in his own house. After all, he
and Percy had been there first. The others were their guests as far
as he was concerned.

Collin eventually chose to move out to the
servants’ quarters. Besides being bigger than his room and having
its own kitchen and bath, it provided a level of privacy he didn’t
feel in his room. In his room, he could still hear the
whispers.

Because of this discomfort, instead of going
home, he drove downtown. At Pat O’Brian’s he ordered a Hurricane
and sat at the piano bar in hopes that he might be able to think
about his feelings for Jewell.

There was something about Jewell that was
different from anyone he had ever met before. He had had other
relationships, dated other girls. They were all nice, but none of
them were anything more than a temporary reprieve from whatever
happened to be going on in his life at the time. He had written to
some for a while after leaving, but soon, the time between letters
increased, and before long, both had moved on to other things.

But Jewell was different in so many ways. To
begin with, when he was away from her his heart hurt. Not in an
abstract way, but really hurt. The pain in his chest was real. When
he thought of her, his heart sang. Every time he smelled
honeysuckle, he couldn’t help but think of her. He was completely
unable to think of his future without her. Tonight was a perfect
example. He really truly intended to stay home tonight, to let
Jewell have a little space, to come in the morning as she had
asked. But he couldn’t. He had to see her, and judging by the way
she greeted him, he felt certain the feeling was mutual.

He thought about what he should do. His uncle
always admonished him about forming relationships. He knew that in
a couple of years his uncle would want to move on. Would Collin
stay with Jewell? Would Jewell go with them? Could he ask Jewell to
give up everything, leave the only life she’s known, for him? Could
he give up everything he’s ever known for her? Would his uncle let
him make his own decisions? The house belonged to him, sort of.
They could just live there. Collin was an adult now, it was time he
started making his own choices.