Lizzy poked plenty of fun at me when I told her about the date. A complete shock, I know. Like Shelly, she could sort of see something there as well, at least enough to wonder if we were already together. Maybe I’d just been too busy being in my own head to notice it myself. Regardless, she was more than happy to help me out.
“How do I make sure I don’t screw this up?” I asked, snatching a cracker to nibble on from her dining room table. My stomach didn’t want me to eat that little bit of food.
“Listen to her when she talks. Like, really listen, okay?” Lizzy shoved a handful of her crackers in her mouth just to rub it in. “Don’t just stare at her boobs. Oh, and don’t stare at her ass either. Trust me, we know when guys are looking.”
“Damn, those two things were at the top of my list,” I joked. “I guess I just have no game.”
“You absolutely have zero game.” She punched me on the arm. “Didn’t stop you from getting the date. Seriously, you’ll be fine.”
Lizzy got up and pulled a block of cheese from her fridge. She turned about half the block into thin slices, putting them down on a paper plate. She repeated the process with some salami before putting the remainders back in her fridge. Bringing the plate back, she used the cheese and salami to make little sandwiches with the crackers.
“Don’t overdo it by being too overdressed,” she’d told me. She got me a nice, white button up shirt, black pants, and shoes that were nicer than what I’d had. All those were sitting on her couch. Lizzy had a bunch of identical articles of clothing, just in different sizes. She had decided on the outfit the moment I asked for her help. “There’s a time and a place to go in for the kill with something like a suit, but that’s usually not first date stuff. Once we get the sizing right, you’ll be able to keep those. I have plenty of clothes for guys that ask for my help.”
The only thing she asked for in return was that I sparred with Braden the day after the date. That was a win-win for me. Nice clothes for my date and someone to help me with my own Anomaly development. I was excited to see what that shadow stuff looked like up close.
“Okay, strip down to your underwear and I’ll make sure these fit.”
“What!?” I took a step back, and for some reason, covered my chest with my arms. Instantly, I felt like an idiot and Lizzy nearly fell over laughing.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” She took a few steps closer and looked up at my face, squinting. “But I’m fixing up your eyebrows. You’re blond, but you’re a guy and they’re thicker, so they show. Sit your butt down, this won’t take but a minute.”
It really was only a minute. That turned out to be a small mercy when I learned I wasn’t the biggest fan of having stray eyebrow hairs plucked out. Lizzy was quick and efficient with it, so it was absolutely better than anything I’d do if I tried, but it still stung. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t notice anything different. Assuming she’d done that countless times, I opted to go with Lizzy’s judgment. If my friend was going to give me free clothes, sure, I’d trust her to wrangle my eyebrows.
After Lizzy took care of me with my clothing, which took longer than I’d thought it would due to needing to be fitted and measured, I went to meet Rebecca at her apartment. On the way, I passed a quiet little flower shop. I stood in front of it for a few minutes and thought about getting her a bouquet of flowers. I was nervous that it’d be too much, she might have allergies, or she just might outright hate the idea, like how some people hated getting candy on Valentine’s Day. How much would it suck if I botched the first date before it even really began?
I ended up taking the chance on the flowers. When I walked in, the shop owner said his Anomaly let him grow flowers with strong fragrances, something that apparently had been lost somewhat over time. He had a beautiful bundle of vibrant red roses that drew me in right away. She either figured out how to put an image as a background on her phone, or she had someone else do it for her, but I saw that her background was a rose. That gave me hope that this was some kind of sign, and I was making the right move. There were still some nagging thoughts that it would remind Rebecca of her daughter in the wrong way, so I pushed those aside so I wouldn’t be standing in a flower shop for hours. The owner, a very handsome guy with thick black hair, said it was almost impossible to go wrong with them. While I assumed that he had no trouble with women based off his looks, I was sure he was happy to make a sale.
The short walk to her place consisted of me trying to kick those pesky negative thoughts out of my head. There were a few people out who gave me some strange looks when they saw the bouquet, which did make me scared it might’ve been the wrong move. Did guys still do things like that, really? Was I just going to make myself look dumb by buying them? If it was an older practice, would someone from her time appreciate something like it? Were flowers even a gift that men gave women in the Civil War era?
I decided that standing in front of her door thinking about those things made me look like a creep, so I just bit the bullet. I tapped on her door three times, took a step back, and let myself breathe. Forced myself to breathe, really. Each second felt like an hour. The shirt Lizzy gave me was fitted perfectly to my upper body, but every time my heart beat without her answering the door, it felt like it was tightening against my chest.
Rebecca opened the door and she looked outstanding. Her hair was done up in an elegant, loose bun with two strands of bangs that framed her face. She’d put on some dark eyeshadow, and it was immediately clear she didn’t have a lot of experience with makeup. That settled me down, telling me I wasn’t alone in not knowing exactly what to do. She probably knew it wasn’t going to turn out like what Lizzy could do, but she still went through the trouble, and that made me feel like it was an important night for her too. The effort alone warmed my heart, and suddenly, nothing in my world felt bad.
“Are those for me?” she asked, reaching toward a rose and inhaling deeply. “They smell so good. Oh, they’re absolutely beautiful.” I handed them to her, thankful that the person who sold them to me had such a useful Anomaly and for pushing me to get them. Even if he was just trying to make a sale, he helped me out.
“You look beautiful too,” I told her. It sounded better in my head, where I could be infinitely dashing and charming. I was scared with being too forward with it in reality.
“Thank you, but please, relax,” she said. Rebecca put a hand on my shoulder and guided me in. “You’re doing fine. The flowers are lovely, you’re very much on my good side, and I’m already enjoying the night. You don’t have to worry yourself sick.”
Rebecca told me to take a seat anywhere, so I chose the chair that didn’t have anything next to it on the table, assuming the other was hers. Her apartment was like mine, just a little smaller. Hers was probably built for just one person or a couple with no kids. She had some paintings that looked to be of older places or people. I stared and frowned, unable to recognize any of them. I thought if she could change it, her entire place would resemble a rustic cabin, which gave me some interior decorating ideas that I liked.
“I just have to finish getting ready. Be out in a few minutes.” She slipped into the hallway out of my sight, taking the roses with her.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I pulled out my phone to check that nothing was burning down in the few hours I’d been absent. Shelly had sent a picture of her and Megan making silly faces and wished me good luck on the date. They looked adorable and I was glad that Megan brought out Shelly’s goofier side. I thought about sending Lori a message to try and patch things up, though I held back. I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to start a potentially heavy conversation going into a date. Plus, I felt like it was rude to text a girl while a on a date with another girl, family members withstanding.
Rebecca still wasn’t out, so I generated three small orbs in my hand and started to rotate them around above my palm. That was helping me to practice control with multiple objects on a small scale, something I wanted to increase to bigger objects. The end goal with this exercise was to throw three spears at one time, maybe in different directions if I could manage it. With control of the three orbs, I put a thin barrier over my hand and brought it up to my elbow. I still had enough focus to keep going, and I was able to get the barrier over the left half of my body before Rebecca came back out.
“Lizzy kept making me buy green clothes. She says the color goes well with my hair.” She had on a simple green dress with long sleeves that ended just above her knees in a nice ruffle design, black leggings, and black pumps. It was a warmer looking choice, which I thought was a smart move for my idea. “For as thin as they are, clothes are simpler now, thankfully. Way comfier too.”
“Sorry that I was here a bit early,” I said. “You really do look beautiful.”
“More time together, especially if you’re going to keep saying nice stuff like that.” She offered me her hand and I took it, her pulling me out of the chair with minimal effort. “So, what non-movie plan did you have?”
The plan was this little spot I found when trying to make myself tired. It was a small, white gazebo. It looked like one that you’d see in a wedding photo, maybe a bit smaller, and flanked by flower-filled bushes on its sides. The gazebo sat adjacent to a gentle brook that acted as a border to a thick forest. Some of the green on the trees was coming back and it already looked nice. I knew it would have been a breathtaking sight in the summer. To her surprise, I held her hand for the entire walk over.
“It’s not the Eiffel Tower, but it’s nice, isn’t it?” I asked, walking into the gazebo. There were soft white lights hanging from its support beams, bathing the area in just enough light so someone wouldn’t trip and enhance a wonderful night. There was a swinging bench connecting to the ceiling and I took a seat in it. I only worried for a moment that I might just bring the whole thing down with me.
“The what tower? What’s that?” Rebecca asked, taking my side. She slipped her arm between mine and rested her head on my shoulder.
When was the Eiffel Tower made again? Did I even really know? I stopped to think about it while Rebecca giggled.
“I know what the Eiffel Tower is,” she said, “and no, it wasn’t made before I was kidnapped. Neither was the Empire State Building. Have to say, I am glad that I’ve been able to see just how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time.”
“Do you ever miss that time?” I asked. I gently pushed my feet off the ground to make the bench move. The rickety old thing managed to hold strong with both of us on it, fortunately.
“I miss my family. My relationship with my mother and father broke down after I got pregnant, and we never had the chance to reconcile. Not as much as I would have liked.” She stared into the tree line with a distant look on her face. “I miss Rose every day. Sleeping alone some nights makes it almost unbearable. I shut my eyes, and her smile is all I can see. I know that she lived a full life and had her own family, but as her mother, I have trouble seeing it that way. I think my family is really the only thing I miss.”
She scooted in closer to me and leaned her head on my chest. My reaction to try and pull back wasn’t from the touching itself. Instead, it was because I still wasn’t accustomed to any kind of romantic contact. I’d never had someone tell me something sad like that and lean their body into my own, like being near me was their comfort. It was unfamiliar to me, and I didn’t always do so well with that. After I took a deep breath, I realized I enjoyed having her there.
“What about you? Do you miss anything?” She turned her head to look me in the eye.
“Sure, my mom and dad.” I gave her a rundown of what happened and how I’d felt guilty about Shelly having to put her life on pause to take care of me. I mentioned what Lori said to me after we voted Val in, which made her face sour. I was pretty sure it was because of what she said, not that I mentioned another woman on our date. “It’s weird. After they were killed, it feels like everything was sort of a blur between then and when I first met Lori. It’s a six-year gap where I can hardly pick out any single event. I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’ve spent a third of my life doing almost nothing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed by that. You’ve already done a lot since you met Lori. You know that’s why I like you so much, right? In all that confusing mess down in that tomb, you risked your life without a second thought for Megan. As a mother who felt like she let down her only daughter, seeing you jump to her protection was attractive, Ethan.”
My face flushed and I hunted for something else to look at in the gazebo’s ceiling. “Alex or Lori would have done the same thing.”
“Maybe. You were the one who stepped up and did it, and I like that.” She poked my chest and laughed. “Give yourself some credit. You got pretty cut up to save two people. Thank you, by the way. I don’t know if I ever told you that in the whirlwind that came after, but I’m glad to be here now. Not sure there’s anywhere else I’d rather be right now.”
That made me feel better about that day. It couldn’t just make all the negativity vanish, though it helped. Remembering more and more that I helped save two lives of two people who were important to me was the big thing. Rebecca and Megan were proof of good work that Lori, Alex, and I all did.
“I really hope it doesn’t snow out here.” It didn’t feel cold enough that it would. With some clouds threatening to move in, I knew anything could happen. It was still winter and we were in the mountains.
“What’s snow?” Rebecca asked, looking up at me.
“Oh, snow is a kind of solid water. When it hits around freezing...” I looked down and saw that she was smiling at me, then I realized she was joking. “Why did I let you make me think that snow was somehow invented recently?”
“I don’t know. I like hearing you talk, so I’m glad I did.” She let out a deep breath and I felt a lot less embarrassed about the snow thing.
Using my foot, I kept rocking the bench while we sat in silence. The only noises around us were the light creaking of the swinging bench and the moving water from the brook. It was definitely cold enough out that we didn’t have to worry about being swarmed by bugs. I thought there would be more talking. We’d had multiple chances to get to know each other since we started hanging out, so we might’ve skipped past that part. Just two people enjoying the privacy of each other and a nice little gazebo, where I lost track of the time.
Rebecca’s breathing slowed and I shifted to make sure she was okay. She jolted up and looked around in confusion, before remembering where she was. She lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, didn’t mean to doze off on you there.”
“I didn’t know you drooled when you slept,” I said, laughing at a damp spot where her head had been.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. This is so mortifying.” Rebecca’s face went scarlet from ear-to-ear. She started to scan the area around us. “Here, let me find something to clean it with.”
“I’m playing with you, don’t worry about it.” She didn’t look any more relieved about it. “You’re that tired? Let’s call it a night and I can walk you back.”
“Please don’t let the only thing I do on my first date in over a century be drooling on you.” She groaned and looked miserable.
“Did you have fun?” I asked. I stood up and held out my hand for her to take.
“Well...yes, I did.” Rebecca took my hand and I pulled her to her feet as gently as possible. “Probably the nicest night I’ve had since coming out of stasis. Beats reading a dictionary an hour before bed, and it really beats dirtbag city boys not around to raise their own daughter.”
“Then that’s all that matters, right?” I let go of her hand and we started walking back the way we came. I felt bad about the bitterness she still had for Rose’s dad. My dad didn’t leave because of a choice he made. At least the guy couldn’t hurt Rebecca anymore. “I had fun, you had fun, and it was a simple night. Glad tonight’s simple, because I’m probably going to get my butt handed to me tomorrow.”
“Oh, why’s that?” She already seemed to be over the drooling incident.
“Lizzy wants me to help Braden with training tomorrow.”
Rebecca’s bright eyes lit up. “I’ll bring Megan! That’ll be fun to watch, and I bet she could use the entertainment. I’ve never seen you fight someone with an Anomaly that could be used for proper offense either.”
“Great, just get everyone who hasn’t already left to watch me get my butt kicked up and down the room,” I grumbled.