Soul Mates Page 11
How much can I tell him?
She fumbled with her wine and finished the rest of her glass. Then she glanced at the bottle sitting nearby.
“Would you?”
“Of course, sweetie.”
Jeremiah poured her another glass, and slid it to her. He held up his own glass.
“To us. To a future that is full of sparkles and magic.” He paused and added, “The past can’t hurt us. We have our own path in front of us.”
They clinked glasses and Alannah smiled.
“Do you have any secrets?” she asked.
He laughed. “I’m sure everyone has secrets. You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”
“Mine is just kind of weird. It’s not really a big deal.”
She hoped he would wave it off and say to forget it.
Instead he said, “We shouldn’t have any secrets between us. I want us to always trust each other, and that starts by getting rid of any baggage we might have.”
She nodded and took a deep breath.
“I’ve never told you about my family.”
She swirled the wine in her glass and stared at it.
“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”
“My father murdered my mother when I was sixteen. That’s when I left home.”
“Oh . . . that must have been crazy. Why did he do that?”
“He was just an asshole. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
“I don’t blame you.”
He reached out and took her hand.
“And I have a twin sister. She left home with me.”
“A twin? Identical or fraternal?”
“Identical.”
“Where does she live? In Seattle?”
“Yes, we actually live together. She’s not big on meeting people, though. One day you’ll meet her.”
He shrugged. “Okay. Is that your secret?”
“Part of it. But, your turn. What’s yours?”
Jeremiah leaned back and his smile disappeared for a moment before reappearing.
“I have a terrible temper. It’s one of the worst parts about me, and I wish it wasn’t true, but it is.”
“Really? I’ve never seen you even a little irritated, let alone lose your temper. That’s almost funny to hear you say that!”
“Well, it’s not funny when it happens. I’ve mostly been able to control it since I was a teen, but back then, it was really pretty bad. I was always in fist fights with friends, and I often lost my temper with my little brother. I hated that. It’s like I would totally lose control of who I was, and my body would go on this rampage.”
He stopped, apparently thinking back.
“I hated when that would happen. I’m glad I can mostly keep that temper under control, but it’s still there. If something gets me mad—like, really mad—I feel that loss of control coming on, and I know one day I might explode and lose myself like I used to.”
Alannah didn’t say anything, just nodded. She felt a chill so she went to the kitchen area and put her sweater on her shoulders.
“That’s your only secret?” she asked. She wanted something bigger, something that would be more equal to her own secrets.
“That’s it. You already know about the other big thing in my life, when I cut that girl who was my assistant.”
They sat in silence for a moment, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes.
“You’re my dream girl, you know,” he said. “I will always love you. Always and forever.”
“Always and forever.”
“Do you want to tell me the rest?”
She nodded.
Only part, she decided.
“Sometimes I’m haunted by a little boy.”
Jeremiah pulled his hand away.
“What do you mean?”
“He speaks Portuguese and started to show up years ago, saying ‘The water is cold.’ I didn’t know what he is talking about. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, his face stares back at me. He’s dead, I think.”
“That’s—”
“Crazy?”
“No, I didn’t mean that.”
“It’s okay. I know it’s crazy, but it’s true. A couple of times he’s said things in English, too. Something about coming back.”
“That must be so scary.”
“It is. Especially when it’s in the middle of the night, like if I wake up and have to go pee and glance at the mirror. It’s really, really scary.”
“Oh, God, I hate that thought.”
He moved to her and held her tightly to him.
In the background, Alannah could hear light rain outside, and she wondered if the dead boy was hiding between the raindrops.
“Alannah?”
“Yes?”
“Did something happen to you? Sometimes you seem frightened, like you want to hide from the world. I love those times, because I just want to take care of you forever. But, I’ve wondered how you got to be the person you are.”
Alannah pulled back from him.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re like a china doll, and I worry that you might break. I never want to do that accidentally, and if I knew more—”
“There’s nothing to know,” she snapped.
He nodded. “Okay.”
Alannah walked away and crossed her arms. “I’ve told you everything.”
“Okay,” he said again. “I’m sorry.”
He went to her but she looked at her watch. “I should head home. It’s late.”
She didn’t want to leave this way, but she knew she had to.
She kissed Jeremiah good-bye, leaving him to wonder what the hell had just happened.
* * *
The air outside was warm, and Alannah didn’t really need to wear her sweater, but she liked the coziness on her arms. She walked away from Jeremiah’s apartment but didn’t head home. She wanted to be alone and walk.
After thirty minutes of distracted meanderings, she realized she wasn’t completely sure where she was. Seattle had lots of twisting streets and she had just followed her feet. She found herself in an empty park and sat on a bench.
In front of her was a baseball diamond. She imagined teams had been playing there earlier, but now it was close to midnight and only a handful of teenagers walked together in the middle of the outfield. They smoked, and she suspected the cigarettes weren’t of the legal kind. She didn’t care.
The moon was high above her, almost full, and it cast hard shadows from the trees near her.
Alannah hated how she’d left Jeremiah. He was the only man who’d ever treated her well, and for some reason she’d gotten into a huff and, well, hopefully she could smooth it all over tomorrow.
“I’m coming back.”
The voice came from behind her, and she felt her hair stand on end. It was right behind her.
She didn’t move. Maybe it would just go away if she pretended not to notice.
One of the teenagers in the field laughed. They were too far away to help her if she needed help.
The wine had made her feel slightly buzzed earlier, but right now she was stone sober and scared out of her mind. She willed the dead boy to leave her alone.
Nothing happened. She shut her eyes and tried to hide inside herself, and after a few minutes, she wondered if she had imagined the voice, because it hadn’t happened again.
Then she felt breath on the back of her neck. She heard someone breathing, and hot, sticky exhalations dotted her neck.
Oh, please go away, she willed. She still didn’t move.
The second time he spoke, his voice was right by her ear.
“I’m coming back. And I’m going to kill him.”
She screamed and ran, not looking back to see the dead boy laughing at her.
Chapter 17
2015
Jeremiah couldn’t sleep that night. He wanted to kick himself for pushing Alannah about whatever secrets she might be keeping to herself. She
needed to tell him in her own way, at her own pace. He knew she was gentle and sweet and easily hurt, but he’d gone ahead and pushed anyhow.
That morning he called to apologize. She made it sound like it was no big deal, but he knew better. He vowed to never do that again.
Unless I lose my temper.
It was always there, just below the surface, the fear that somebody would say the wrong thing and he would blow. He remembered losing his temper completely, the time he tossed his little brother’s games down the stairs. And the time he had killed the cat.
That must never ever happen with Alannah.
She was sensitive, so very sensitive, and he knew if he lost his temper, he’d also lose her. Probably forever. And he would deserve it. He simply couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.
In his e-mail that morning, he had received a general schematic of the new theater from the design team at Caesar’s. He printed the fifteen-page PDF and spent an hour poring through the details. In the end, he didn’t have much to suggest. They’d included several trap doors in the stage that would be invisible to the audience and a couple of catwalks running from the stage into the audience, so he could greet more people.
They had also planned equipment to allow him or his assistants to fly above the crowd, held up by nearly invisible wiring. The one addition he wanted to include related to that. He wanted the assistants to start the show by flying from the back of the theater to the stage. He’d seen that done by Cirque du Soleil once, and it had caught everyone off guard. He wanted that effect.
He didn’t have much to say about the seating. The areas up close would be arranged as a dinner theater, with round tables of eight seats each. Each seat would cost $200, which included a basic dinner. Booze was extra, of course. A lot extra.
The rest of the theater used standard stadium seating so there would be no bad seats anywhere—no seats blocked by pillars or anything else.
The plans were amazing, and he had to keep himself from shaking his head and convincing himself it was all just a dream.
* * *
Construction of the new theater began almost immediately after the contracts were signed. Jeremiah visited the site monthly to check on progress and was amazed at how fast it developed.
There were no indications on the site as to what the new theater would be used for. Caesar’s wanted to surprise everyone when everything was in place.
He loved it.
Although he performed a few shows while waiting for his theater to be complete, he instructed his agent not to book anything new. Jeremiah wanted the time free to plan the new spectacle.
Alannah helped with organizing. She set up a system on her iPad that kept track of the thirty standard tricks he would perform for any given show. Some of them were “small” magic, work that needed a camera to show the audience what was going on. He only included his favorite card tricks and mind-reading. These always went over well, but the audience didn’t go to see him for those.
They wanted the big shots.
They wanted levitation, disappearing girls, danger, thrills, and surprises.
They wanted to believe.
Alannah kept track of the major tricks in her iPad, along with substitutions. Jeremiah didn’t want to perform the same set of tricks every night, although he was known for a few spectacular ones that he would repeat over and over, so the audience didn’t feel cheated.
However, there were a half dozen different levitation tricks and several ways to make his assistant disappear; on top that, in addition, he had way too many tricks in his bag to perform them all. If he tried to include every trick he knew, his show would last all night long.
One thing nagged at him as they planned.
Every time he had ever asked his audiences for feedback, they always overwhelmingly responded by asking about the one trick missing from his act: cutting a girl in half.
The contract with Caesar’s had an appendix that listed eight major tricks that he was obligated to perform in each show. After all, they were putting up a shitload of money to build the stage, and they needed the audiences to come.
Number three on that list was cutting a girl in half.
Jeremiah knew that, of course, and now he was committed. It was time to bury the past.
* * *
On December 10, Jeremiah and Alannah boarded an Alaska Airlines flight for Las Vegas, three weeks before the first show, but there had been little point going earlier because the stage hadn’t been finished. Now, they could practice all they wanted with no fear of construction workers interrupting them.
The Jeremiah Moore Stage. It still sounded surreal to them.
The plane was a 737, three seats on each side with an aisle down the middle. Alannah took the window seat and Jeremiah the middle. The aisle seat was empty, which they were both happy with.
The flight was only two hours and fifteen minutes, and as they lifted into the air, Alannah leaned over to kiss Jeremiah and said, “Onward to our new life.”
“Yes. I can’t wait to get it started!”
She grabbed his arm when the plane rumbled through a spot of turbulence. She wasn’t afraid of flying, not exactly, but she felt the adrenaline flooding her when things got a little bumpy.
He’d hired three additional assistants from the local temp agency. Although he hadn’t met them yet, he’d interviewed them on Skype, and they seemed to be good fits. Really all they needed was to seem excited to be part of the show and be attractive and reliable. If any of the three impressed him over the first month, he’d hire her full time. This was a long gig.
“Are you going to miss Seattle?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so. It’s been my home for a long time, now, but it’s not like I have any actual roots there. I grew up in a small town in upstate New York. Even there, I didn’t feel any loss when we left. I just needed to leave.
“Here, I don’t feel the need to leave. I’m moving on with you, and there’s nothing that could make me happier.”
“I’m glad.”
She smiled broadly for him.
“And you’re sure your sister really wants to move, too?”
“Yup. She’ll come a bit later, but she would never live in a different place from me.”
“I still have to meet her.”
Alannah leaned onto his arm. “You will. It’s a bit complicated right now, so don’t worry.”
Jeremiah wanted to ask what was complicated, but he knew she’d tell him when she was ready.
“You know, Vegas is known for a lot of things,” he said. “Music, the shows, of course, gambling, the heat.”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing it all!”
“And one other thing.”
“What?”
“Weddings.”
“Oh, like that chapel where somebody dressed as Elvis Presley can marry people?”
“That, and of course slightly more respectable places.”
“I guess.”
“How would you feel about us getting married? I mean, now, not some indeterminate point in the future, but . . . well, now?”
She turned and stared at him.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
She pursed her lips and kissed his cheek.
“That would be amazing . . . to be married to you right away. I’d love that . . . .”
“But?”
“It’s just . . . complicated. I’m not sure I can do it that fast.”
“Oh, okay.”
Jeremiah looked into her eyes and tried to hide the sadness that rushed through him. He wanted this girl to be joined to his heart forever. Not that a cheap ceremony would change anything if their relationship went sour, but the symbol felt important to him.
“Soon,” she whispered. “I promise.”
She grabbed his thigh and squeezed it. He tried to believe that everything would be perfect for them.
It has to be, he knew.
* * *
The p
lane landed five minutes ahead of schedule and they found their way through the labyrinthine terminal, grabbed their bags, and hired a taxi.
“Caesar’s Palace,” Jeremiah told the driver.
“Sure thing.”
The cabbie stared at him using the rear-view mirror, possibly trying to figure out if he was a big tipper. Or maybe trying to see how a guy his age had somehow attracted a beautiful girl half his age.
Surely that’s not unusual in Vegas, thought Jeremiah. And who gives a shit anyway?
The hotel expected them. As they climbed out of the cab and paid the driver, a woman walked out and said, “Mr. Moore. Ms. Clarke. My name is Amanda Smythe, and I’ll be responsible for getting you both settled today.”
They said “Hi” at the same time and shook hands. The woman looked to be about fifty with short curly gray hair. She wore a tan, knee-length dress that must have been hot, but she didn’t show it.
“Your rooms are ready. You have connecting suites on the twentieth floor. I trust they will be appropriate until you find permanent arrangements.”
She smiled at Alannah and nodded at Jeremiah.
“Well, that’ll come with time,” he answered.
“Of course.”
She called to a bellboy and told him to take their luggage to their rooms.
“I’m sure you’d like to see the theater first,” she said.
“You bet.”
She walked them through the tourists that flooded the main floor. The farther they walked, the more slot machines surrounded them, and the more people crowded around them. None of them recognized Jeremiah, but he hadn’t expected them to.
It was only two o’clock in the afternoon, but the casino was packed. Several times they had to detour around intoxicated guests.
Jeremiah had performed in Las Vegas at least a dozen times, but only once at Caesar’s Palace, about five years earlier. He wasn’t fazed at all by the crowds, the drinks, the noise, the gambling, but he could tell that Alannah was soaking it all in, never having seen anything like this before.
There’s no place in the world like Vegas. He promised himself to find time over the next month to show her the wonders of the city. Even a month would only make a small dent in the sights to be seen, but it was a start.