The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: The Curse of the Gifted (49 page)

“Well, that depends on what your excuse is.”

Aimee didn’t know what to tell her
. Sorry I didn’t come to your party because I found out my
own father and aunt plotted a devious charade eighteen years ago committing my mother when I was born. In cahoots, they had James and me believe she died giving birth to me. And my dad really isn’t my dad. Oh, and by the way, Mom’s a time traveler, too. Or, perhaps I should tell her I didn’t remember her party because I had the most miserable day of my life, and I tried to erase it by going home with Dylan and screwing our brains out most of the night.

Aimee went with her third option. “I got back later than planned from Portland taking Aunt Lauren to the airport, and I had one of my spells. You know, the usual migraine and meltdown. Dad thought Dylan could help me come out of it so he brought me back to his house, and I slept it off.”

Chels softened. “Hmmm. Not a great excuse, but it’ll do, I guess. I’ll forgive you, but only if you…” She paused.

“What? I’ll do anything to get back in your good graces. I’ll buy you some expensive designer shoes. Or I’ll wash and wax your car every month while you’re gone. Or I’ll call you every day with all the juicy gossip from Oregon…” Aimee pleaded with a light, tinkling voice.

“Well...hmmm. Hard decision.”

Aimee begged, “Chels, anything.”

“Okay.
Anything
?”

“Yep, anything, if you’ll forgive me.”

“Then I forgive you…”

Aimee shrieked like a little kid, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Wait, I’m not through,” Chelsea informed her. “I’ll forgive you if you’ll tell me when you and
Dylan
finally
get it on.” She sort of laughed, and then waited for Aimee's response.

“CHELSEA!”
Aimee screamed. “That’s
sooo
not fair. You know how I feel about that kinda
gossip.” Aimee grimaced at Dylan who was sitting on the bed next to her flipping through the channels on the TV. He looked at her puzzled. Aimee shrugged.

“Well, I guess you really don’t
wanna
be my BFF.”

“Chelsea,” Aimee whined.

“Okay. You don’t have to tell me anything about what I’ve been dying to hear about since your night with Dylan after graduation. I don’t need details, unless you want to share.” She giggled, then continued, “But, I just wanna know that my best friend is a normal, healthy female. I mean, like how could you still be a virgin with a hotty like Dylan?”

Unconsciously, Aimee let slip out, “Yeah, how could I be.”

Chels squealed, “Holy crap! Woo hoo! I knew it! Okay, I
sooo
want details when you’re not
with Dylan.”

“Chelsea, you’re
so
not fair.”

“Oh, get over it. Who else is gonna pick on you?”

Gray clouds suddenly filled her sky. “Yeah, who else,” Aimee said bleakly.

“Hey, don’t be such a downer. You’re gonna make me cry.”

After a few seconds of strained silence to swallow the lump in her throat, Aimee continued, “Chels, love ya. Don’t forget me. You promised no matter how famous you got, you wouldn’t forget your crazy, best friend back home.”

Chelsea’s voice cracked before she could get anything out. Finally she finished, “Love ya, too, you wacky nut. I’ll see you on your layover the end of the month. I’ll meet you at JFK, but then you have to promise to visit after Christmas, just you, and we’ll have a totally killer time in the Big Apple.”

“Deal,” Aimee promised.

“Swear?”

“Pinky swear.”

“Okay, so I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks. I better go. Mom is driving me friggin’ nuts going over and over everything I need to do before we leave, and as soon as I land in New York, and when I get to my new apartment. She’s about to lose it over her baby girl moving to the other side of the universe.”

“Chels,” Aimee said, “be safe.”

“You too.”

It only took two seconds after Aimee put down her phone for it to come. The tears blinded her sight as they swelled up behind her eyelids. As she had expected, she fell apart. Dylan crushed her into his chest and held her there until her eyes dried up. Except for Dylan, life sucked at the moment.

**********

“Hello,” Aimee greeted in monotone.

“Hey there, Amos,” Dad greeted back cheerfully. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” His voice sounded so absent of guilt. How could he not know why she was so totally pissed?

“I’m fine,” she answered flatly.

“Good. That’s good.” Dad hesitated a few seconds waiting for Aimee to talk, but she kept quiet. “So, when are you coming home?” he anxiously asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow,” she hesitated.
Humph, maybe never,
Aimee thought to her
self.

“Oh,” Dad answered disappointed. He continued, “Well, Zonker missed you terribly last night. So did I, sweetheart. It’s really lonely when you aren’t here.”

“So Dad, what are you gonna do when I leave for Europe in a few weeks, then move out later this summer?”

“Don’t know. I try not to think about it too much.”

“Hmmm, well, I guess you’ve had eighteen years to prepare for this day,” she retorted, failing miserably at trying to keep her anger in check.

After another awkward silence, Dad said, “Well, Hannah and I will be here tonight if you change your mind and want to come home. Bring Dylan. He can stay in James’s room.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I have to work late tonight, then I think I’ll just crash at Dylan’s.”

“Okay,” Dad replied blatantly disappointed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she half-heartedly promised.

He perked up. “Great. We’ll all go out to eat somewhere fun. You pick.”

Aimee sighed heavily, then answered, “All right, Dad.”

“Aimee...” Dad started and paused.

“Yeah?”

“I love you, sweetheart. Take care of yourself.”

She didn’t reply her usual, “Love you, too, Dad”, and try to reassure him she would be fine so he wouldn’t worry. Instead Aimee answered, “Dylan will come by tonight while I’m at work to get me some clothes and a few things. I’ll see you some time tomorrow.” Aimee ended the call and pitched the phone to the other side of the couch. “Grrrrr,” she hissed through clenched teeth. Dylan didn’t say a word. He just reached over and picked up the phone, set it on the coffee table, and took Aimee's hand into his, gently twisting his fingers through hers. She felt his eyes fixed on her. She looked over and her seething attitude vanished instantly. Dylan’s twinkling, brown eyes and usual devilish grin captured her attention. She remembered his promise earlier. Straddling herself over his lap, Aimee attached her lips to his and let her dad wash off of her for the rest of the afternoon.

**********

Dylan parked his mom’s SUV against the curb at the mall and waited for Aimee to come out from work. As soon as she opened the door, he greeted her with an impish grin exposing all of his perfect white teeth.

“Hey, there. How was work? Hungry?” His grin didn’t match the casual chit-chat.

“Hi yourself, fine, and yes,” Aimee answered all in one breath, waiting for the joke she was sure he wanted to tell her. Why otherwise did he look like the Cheshire cat who just ate the canary? He continued smiling at Aimee and kept the vehicle in Park. “What?” she finally asked. He wiggled his eyebrows and rolled his eyes down to the console between them. At last, Aimee picked up on his subtle hint and looked down. A gently curled, white envelope with a delicate, satiny pink ribbon tied around it stuck out of one of the cup holders. A smile slowly spread on her face.
“For
me
?” she asked surprised.

“Yes, silly. I told you I had a couple surprises for you this morning.”

“Yeah, well, I thought your totally awesome breakfast and your mom’s trip with Paul were my surprises.”

“Nope, not even. Here, go ahead and open.” He pulled the envelope out of the console and handed it to Aimee, then leaned in, gave her a quick kiss, and hung over the console waiting for her to open her surprise. The same silly grin remained plastered on his face.

Aimee took the envelope, smiled at Dylan, then slid her finger up under the flap and slowly loosened the seal. She opened the envelope and peeked into it. It looked like official papers of some kind. Aimee pulled them out and studied them; two airplane tickets to Rome, departure June 28, 2006. Her face must have given away her shock because Dylan couldn’t wait.

“You
like
?” he asked with a slight rise of unease on the end.

She shook her head when she should have been nodding. Finally, Aimee got her words out.
“No…no…I don’t
just
like. I
looove
!” she exclaimed. “Wow! Omigod! We’re really going, aren’t
we?”

“Yeaaah, baby! I promised you I was taking you to Europe for our gradua...” Within a second his excited tone dropped. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

The stored up craziness of the past week finally came bubbling out in tears of happiness. In be
tween sobs Aimee answered, “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Just the opposite. This is
sooo
perfect.” She
suddenly flung her arms around Dylan’s neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He held her until her tears stopped. After a few minutes Aimee eased out of his clutch and stared into his eyes.
“We’re
really
going, aren’t we?”

“Yes, ma’am, just the two of us. You applied for your passport, didn’t you?” he asked with one eyebrow pulled into an inverted V.

“Yep. I went ahead and did it last month, but I haven’t gotten it back yet.”

“Well, you should get it soon. Hey, let’s get out of here and go back to the house. I have some Chinese takeout waiting for us.”

“Sounds wonderful.” After a couple miles she realized Dylan had mentioned two surprises. The one he had given her was more than enough, but her curiosity was getting to her. “So, mind if I ask what the second surprise is?”

“You’ll have to wait until we get home,” he replied mischievously.

As soon as they got in the house he practically pulled her up the stairs to his room. Aimee raced
through all the possible scenarios.
Maybe he got me some new cologne, possibly a new running outfit, or perhaps a chic outfit for our trip.
Dylan knew how much she hated to shop, but he loved buying her surprises. When they entered Dylan’s room the lights were low, and soft music filled the air.
Mmmm
, Aimee began to fantasize,
how romantic..
.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he ordered after gently guiding her to the edge of the bed.

“Okay. But don’t keep me waiting. The suspense is killing me.” Her imagination was working
overtime.
Maybe he got me some sexy lingerie for tonight.
Her heartbeats jumped into double time with
wild anticipation. After an eternity, Aimee felt him sit down next to her on the bed. He took her hand and placed it on top of his, spread it open, and tenderly set a small box into her palm.

He instructed softly, “Okay, you can open your eyes.”

Aimee slowly opened her eyes and immediately spotted the small, rectangular, gray box sitting pompously in her hand. Her breath stuck in her throat, and her face looked like she had spotted a ghost.
“Uhhhh”
came out as she desperately tried sucking air through her windpipe.

Dylan looked worried at Aimee when she hesitated to speak or open the small box. Aimee knew only one thing could be inside, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. Actually, she was scared to death.

“Go ahead and open it, Aimee,” he requested again.

Deliberately, Aimee clamped shut her eyes and lifted the top. As soon as she had it opened she grazed a shaky finger across the bottom of the box. It instantly touched what she had feared would be there. Aimee swallowed a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. A beautiful, antique silver ring with intricate webbing was tucked delicately in the royal blue velveteen.

“Oh, my!” exclaimed Aimee before her hand flew up over her mouth.

Dylan couldn’t wait. “Do you like?”

She shook her head again, when she should have been nodding. “Yes…yes…it is…soooo
beautiful
!”
Aimee hesitated a few more seconds before finishing, “But I…I…”

Dylan rushed in, “No, don’t say it. Please. It’s important to me that you have it. It’s…well…” he paused, “it’s just that it’s my promise to you that you will always have my heart…my soul…” and he stopped again for a few seconds and chuckled under his breath, “and all the rest of me.”

“Dylan,” Aimee started with a twinge of desperation mounting in her voice.

“Please, don’t say no. I want you to have it. It’s a symbol of my eternal love, which just keeps getting stronger every day. Man, I don’t know how to explain it, but you fill my brain every waking second, and almost every dream I have. I want you to know how much I love you…and…” he took a deep breath, picked up the box, and eased out the ring. He placed her left hand into his, then continued, “and I hope that you feel the same way about me.” He pinched the ring gingerly between his thumb and forefinger, examined it, then gazed into Aimee's eyes. “This ring is so incredibly beautiful. It’s a rare pattern. No other one like it. It instantly reminded me of you, and if you’ll accept it, it will be your promise to have me.” He touched the end of Aimee's ring finger with the ring and looked longingly into her eyes. “May I?”

A promise of unwavering love. A symbol of his inextinguishable love for Aimee. She felt the same way. Sometimes her heart felt like it would swell and explode when she thought about Dylan. Ac
cepting the ring would make Dylan totally bliss.
But…but…oh, geez…how can I say yes,
Aimee thought,
I have to…I must say no
. Deep down she knew she would never lead a normal life. If her
secret leaked out it would ruin everything between them, and the odds of Dylan finding out were
getting greater the more she traveled and the more she was with him.
But…,
Aimee argued with herself,
well, I’ve managed to keep my secret hidden from him this long. Surely I can figure out a way to travel
without it endangering our relationship, or more important…Dylan
.