|
It came
from behind, forcing me down. Hitting the ground with a
thud, I rolled my body to the side and jumped to my feet –
thank goodness for all those gymnastics lessons. I was
allowed a few seconds head-start, but I knew it wouldn’t
last.
This time,
I spun around, prepared …
The large,
brown, furry mass was upon me in an instant, knocking me off
my feet again. His lolling wet tongue covered my face in
doggie kisses until I couldn’t breathe to giggle anymore.
A bell-like
laugh echoed around us as Grandma Kate strode over and
pulled the wriggling mass of dog off me. “That’s enough,
Buddy! Rosie is happy to see you too!” Once I was free of
Buddy, Grandma wrapped me in her arms. Her hugs always
smelled of vanilla, as if she had just stepped away from her
baking. In this instance, she had done just that. “I still
have some cookies to finish up. Why don’t you and Buddy go
for a walk along the creek?”
Buddy’s
tail began wagging like a crazed metronome. Laughing at his
obvious joy, I grabbed my suitcase and set it inside the
back door. When Grandma Kate walked inside, I gave her
another quick hug then said to Buddy, “Race you!” I took
off running.
With his
extra pair of legs, Buddy could always beat me, but this
time he ran right by my side. I flopped down on the sandy
bank of the creek, and he sat as close as he could without
climbing into my lap. I flung my arm around the dog’s
back. He was so big that I always thought of him as more
wolf-like, but I knew grandma would never let a wild animal
hang around the house.
Snuggling
with Buddy next to the water brought back thoughts of the
last time I had been here. That time, I stood by the creek
bathed in moonlight, with a boy instead of a dog - his
nervous arms around me as his lips pressed against mine…
“Now, gents,”
the booming voice over the loudspeaker shook me from the
memory, “put your hands together for the one, the only …
RED!”
I sighed.
Rose must not be sexy enough for them. I strutted on to
the stage in my ruby-encrusted costume – fake of course. If
I could afford the real thing, I wouldn’t be working here.
After pushing my lips out into a mirror-perfected pout, I
jumped slightly and grabbed the pole high, wrapping my leg
around it and twirling my way back down. As always, I took
that opportunity to check out the crowd. There were a lot
of regulars tonight, including Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome in
his usual spot – right in front of center stage.
I was never
sure what to make of him. The waitresses said - like his
seat - his drinking habits never varied: one beer when he
sat down and either soda or juice for the rest of the
night. He never hit on any of the girls either which was,
to say the least, unusual. And when I say he didn’t hit on
them, I mean - nothing. He never paid for a lap dance, and
the few times girls had offered one for free, he smiled and
sent them on their way. The bizarre behavior even included
how he doled out tips. Most guys took every advantage,
stuffing cash as far as they could into your g-string or
bra, but not him – he handed you a tip and let you do with
it whatever you pleased.
If that wasn’t
enough, he was nice to look at too. He appeared to be a
shade over six feet, muscular, but definitely not bulky -
like someone who worked out to stay strong, not for beefcake
status. His hair was cut in what was probably a
respectable, fairly short style, but looked like he had run
his hands through it repeatedly to make it flawlessly
mussed. As I continued my act, I thought, not for the first
time, how much I would love to get close enough to know his
eye color. Of course, there were also other reasons I’d
like to be close to him, but I had a rule about mixing with
the customers.
So, I just
kept dancing, knowing those elusive eyes followed my every
move. Finally, I was done. Sweaty, but done - and I’d
pulled in some great money. As I swaggered past him, he
held out a rolled up bill. I flashed him a smile and took
it, but he only nodded at me. Back in the dressing room, I
fished out my tips, and tossed them on the counter. The
rolled up bill was a fifty. Damn - that was nice, even from
a crazy-good tipper like him.
Wiping off the
sweat, I started to change into my floor outfit. From
behind the dressing screen, I heard heavy running feet – it
had to be Frank, the owner, but I’d never seen the big man
run in my life.
Frank’s bald
head poked into the dressing room. “Rose, you’re off duty.”
I started to complain – I needed the money – but he
continued, “It’s your grandma … just go.”
My eyes
widened, and I dashed naked from behind the screen, causing
Frank to hit his head on the door as he yanked it out of the
room. I tugged on my jeans and t-shirt, then threw on the
red hooded cape my grandmother, Kathryn, had made for me
years before. Ignoring the crowd, I tore out the door,
jumped into my car, and steered out of the parking lot.
Grandma Kate
had been sick for a while. Last year, I helped her move out
of her house and into a retirement home. It was a nice
place, not like the crap-holes they show in movies. But the
doctors had recently warned me she didn’t have much time
left. Unfortunately, it had only been a matter of weeks
instead of months.
Justin watched
Rose run out of the club, concern clearly etched on his
face. He handed the nearest waitress some money to cover
his tab and left, reaching the parking lot as Rose’s car
pulled out. He climbed into his beat up Jeep, and peeled
out of the lot. Unlike Rose, he didn’t concern himself with
niceties like speed limits.
Justin reached
the retirement home first. He’d been there many times
before, mostly to visit Kathryn, but also to scope out the
help in case of a moment like this. He pulled on a set of
scrubs over his pants and dark t-shirt. Taking in a deep
breath, he concentrated and exhaled – as he released the
breath, his features changed. His nose widened a bit, his
hair grew out a few inches and his jaw line narrowed. He
glanced into the rearview mirror and muttered, “Close
enough.”
As he walked
through the door, someone yelled out, “Hey, Alex, I didn’t
know you were working.”
Justin/Alex
replied, “Just covering tonight.” He continued down the
hall, pausing outside Kathryn’s room. “Damn,” he hissed,
seeing the empty bed.
Glancing
further along the hall, he caught sight of an orderly with a
gurney and realized he was too late; and even worse -- Rose
was too late as well.
I dashed into
Rolling Hills Retirement Home. I must have hit every
damn traffic light between here and the club. Normally,
I chatted with the receptionist, but tonight I ignored her
and ran to Grandma Kate’s room.
She lay there
in her bed, just like always. Thank goodness, a false
alarm. I breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and walked
into the room. “Hi, Grandma Kate. Sounds like you had a
rough night, huh?”
Kathryn
smiled. “Come here, my little Rose. Did you rush all the
way here from your job?”
I squirmed;
Grandma didn’t know what I did to pay for her to be able to
live in a place like this. “Yes, but it’s okay, really. As
long as you’re alright, everything else is fine.” I looked
at her and something about her seemed … wrong. “You are
okay, aren’t you?”
“Of course,
dear, I’m fine,” Kathryn replied.
I sat on the
bed next to her and brushed away the strands of long, dark
hair that had fallen into my eyes so I could examine her
face more clearly. “Huh … weird.”
“What,
darling?”
I stared at
her silvery-grey hair. “The light must have hit your hair
strangely, for a second there part of it looked brown
again.”
Kathryn
smiled. “That is weird.”
Gazing
intently into her brilliant blue eyes, I said, “The really
weird part is your eyes looked a different color too.”
Opening her
mouth, Kathryn laughed. “You’re working too hard, Rosie.”
In the midst
of her laugh, however, my eyes went wide. “Your… teeth…”
Rose stood up
from the bed abruptly, and staggered back toward the door.
“Grandma Kate, what is wrong with your teeth?”
Justin cursed
himself silently, realizing he was losing his grip on the
shift. “Rose, it’s okay …” He tried to force himself to
regain Kathryn’s visage.
Obviously he
failed – Rose screamed and ran from the room.
“Shit!”
Justin flung off the hospital gown and returned to his
normal form. A glance down the hallway revealed that Rose
had gone toward the back door instead of the front. He tore
off after her.
She had gained
about a hundred yards on him when he burst through the
doors. Justin poured on the speed and chased her across the
grounds.
Glancing
behind her, Rose realized she was being followed and her
speed increased with her panic.
Justin had to
run faster if he planned on catching her.
She reached
the storage shed at the edge of the property, bent over,
grabbed something, and spun back toward him.
As he saw the
axe in her hands, Justin skidded to a stop.
Trembling, I
held the axe and faced my pursuer. But it was nothing
compared to the way I shook the moment I recognized him --
Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome from the club. “You!”
He stood back
from me, clearly unnerved by the axe. “Yes, Rose.”
“Who… what …
are you?” I wanted nothing more than to run, but I had to
know what he did with Grandma Kate.
“It’s
complicated.”
“Then explain
it to me,” I demanded, tightening my grip on the axe.
He sighed.
“I’ll have to show you.” He began taking off his clothes.
“Whoa!
There’s nothing under there I want to see!” Ten minutes
earlier, it would have been a lie. But at the moment, I
didn’t care how cute he was, he’d hurt my grandma and that
was the only thing that mattered.
He turned away
from me. “Sorry, but if you want to understand, I don’t
have a choice.” When his clothes were off, something
happened to him. His body convulsed and began sprouting
fur.
I turned
around for a second, unable to look at him, but spun back
almost immediately. There before me stood a wolf … a very
familiar wolf. I almost reached a hand toward it, but
stopped myself. “Buddy?”
The wolf
seemed to almost smile then turned around and, in moments,
was the man again. “I’m glad you recognized me,” he said
with a shy smile.
“But … but…”
I began, my arms sagging.
He smiled.
“But the big stray you used to play with at Kathryn’s house
should be dead by now?”
I nodded at
him.
“If he was a
dog, he would be. Anyone else you remember from your
childhood with your grandmother?”
I stared at
him, and recognized his smile – not from the club, but from
the boy who used to hang around Grandma Kate’s house – my
childhood crush. “Justin? But … how? Why?”
He smirked and
motioned at the axe in my hands.
A part of me
wanted to release it, but I couldn’t trust him that
much. I reached what I hoped was an acceptable compromise
and rested the head on the ground.
He shrugged.
“Kathryn always knew what I was. She was a dear friend of
my mother’s, and when Mom died, Kathryn took me in. Because
of my … affliction … she mostly kept me hidden in order to
keep me safe. When you would visit, I spent most of my time
as Buddy, but sometimes she let me come in to play with you
-- as me.”
I remembered
asking Grandma Kate years ago where Justin lived, and her
answer was “nearby.” I still didn’t understand was
happening though. “But why are you here? Why…”
He smile
drooped and sadness shown through. “When Kathryn got sick,
she asked me to keep an eye on you.”
I gasped,
wondering if Grandma had actually known about my dancing
job.
As if he could
read my thoughts, Justin said, “Don’t worry, she never knew
how you earned money.”
“But, what did
you do to her?” I questioned, squeezing the axe handle
again. For a moment I had forgotten how we ended up
standing here.
Justin sighed.
“Rose, I got here just before you. Kathryn was already
dead, and I … I wanted you to have a chance to say
goodbye.” His gaze fell to the ground, as if he couldn’t
stand to look at me. “I used my ability to give you that
chance. I’m sorry.”
In that
instant I remembered running out of the room – running past
the sign next to her door. The sign no longer had her name
written on it. I remembered the sad look on the
receptionist’s face as I had dashed past. The axe fell from
my grip and I stared at the ground letting my tears sink
into the dirt.
“I did my best
to keep my promise to Kathryn.” Justin smiled nervously and
said, “You made me a promise once when we were younger. Do
you remember?”
I did – as
clearly as if it had been yesterday – I’d been thinking
about it before I went on stage. We were fourteen and had
taken a walk near the small river by Grandma Kate’s house.
Justin had been my first kiss. “I promised to love you
forever,” I whispered.
He took a step
forward.
“I’m not sure
I can keep that promise though,” I said. “I mean, we aren’t
kids anymore.”
Justin stopped
in his tracks.
I continued,
“But I have a feeling Grandma Kate would’ve wanted me to
give the man a chance.”
He smiled as I
looked up into his eyes. Even in the darkness I remembered
… they were hazel. |
