The Emerald Talisman (10 page)

I glared at the dying potted flowers
scattered around the deck, trying to blame them for looking so
needy. The last thing I wanted to do was garden, so I looked away,
fighting their wilting-leaf guilt trips. But after a few minutes,
unable to stand it anymore I got up and grabbed a watering can. I
figured maybe some gardening therapy would help distract my
mind.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I’d
weeded, watered and even planted some bulbs for next year feeling a
tiny bit better. I was dusting off my hands and admiring my handy
work when Luke walked onto the patio.

“What are you doing?”

His happy-go-lucky nature nauseated me, so I
kept my back to him.

“Baking a cake,” I said with a smirk he
couldn’t see.

“Ha-ha. Very funny.”

I turned and glared at him, giving him the
don’t mess with me
look which he should have been very
familiar with.

“What’s your problem?” he said half joking –
half serious, but then he stopped chuckling after I kept scowling.
The regret he felt gave me a sick satisfaction.

“Nothing,” I said, my tone terse, forcefully
tugging a handful of weeds.

I wanted him to pry, but didn’t want to look
dumb either. It was already embarrassing enough. If I admitted my
feelings to Luke and he teased me, it would be more than I could
bear.

“Must be that time of the month,” he mumbled
under his breath while turning to leave.

“What?” I gasped. “Whatever.”

I pushed past him into the house and slammed
the door behind me. Why did every male believe that if a woman was
upset, it was because of her monthly cycle? I was particularly
annoyed by his comment as it was his male species that wreaked
havoc on my life at the moment, not my hormones.

“I’m not on my period!” I yelled through the
closed door.

My anger welled up and I stood there, fists
clenched, realizing I could no longer wait anymore for the person I
really needed to talk to. So I walked directly over to the phone,
picked it up and dialed, prepared to say what I needed to say to
get my Jo back.

My ankle ached when pressing the gas pedal as
I drove the short distance to Jo and John’s. Every second that
passed seemed to make my heart beat a little faster and my palms
began to sweat while holding the steering wheel. In my head, I
rehearsed what I would say if John was home. I should’ve had the
courage to ask Jo if he was at home, instead of being too chicken.
I decided if he was there when I arrived that I’d just be blunt and
tell him he wasn’t welcome then ignore his hurt feelings and
pouting.

I parked in front and noticed a new “Welcome
to the Ritchie’s Home” sign that hung on the side of what used to
be Grandma’s house. My stomach churned. Yet another reminder Jo and
Grandma were no longer a part of my life – I wished I wasn’t
jealous. I pushed the thoughts aside, walked up the walkway and
knocked prepared in case John answered the door.

“Julia!”

Jo ambushed me with a huge hug almost
knocking me off my feet after opening the door. I melted into her
hug and fought back my emotions as we embraced for a moment –
basking in the warmth of her undying love.

“I’ve missed you. Come in… come in.”

It felt really good to be genuinely missed
and I realized how stupid I was – John or no John, I shouldn’t have
waited so long to see her. As Jo ushered me into the house and I
smelled cookies baking.

“I just made some chocolate chip cookies.
Would you like some?” she asked as we walked towards the
kitchen.

I nodded while turning the corner and stopped
in my tracks. The kitchen had been totally remodeled.

”Wow,” I said, overwhelmed by the
ostentatious colors and furniture changes. “When did you… It looks
so… different.”

“Do you like it?” she said, her joy flowing
all around us. “Well, now that Mom is gone John and I felt we
should make it more our home. I hope that doesn’t make you feel
like we are trying to erase the memory of your Grandma.”

“Oh, no… yeah, you should,” I said while
heading toward a newly upholstered bar stool to sit down. I needed
a moment to take it all in.

The walls were now a buttery yellow which
complimented the oak cabinetry and granite countertops. The bar
stool upholstery matched the draperies, a burgundy fabric with
white magnolia flowers. The kitchen was completely unrecognizable
from before and very modern. For as long as I could remember
Grandma Mae hadn’t changed anything in her home. I wondered if
she’d approve of what they were doing to
her
house.

I felt like someone was staring at me and I
turned. A huge wedding portrait of John and Jo hung on a now deep
burgundy colored wall in the dining room. The photo perfectly
captured the beauty of Jo’s hazel eyes and long auburn hair that
flowed ever so gently over her cream colored dress; her slender
arms draped delicately around his neck. I remembered the day well
and felt guilty for feeling such disdain towards the man she loved
with all her heart.

“Where’s John?” I asked, not feeling his
actual presence but expecting him to come around the corner any
minute.

“He had some things do today and will be so
disappointed he missed you, but he’ll join us later for dinner,
“she said, while dishing up another batch of cookies to bake in the
oven. “What’s new in your life?”

I stood there stunned. I couldn’t believe I’d
have Jo’s attention all to myself for the entire afternoon and I
didn’t have to insist on it. My mind went haywire for a second,
trying to think of where I wanted to start.

“Boys,” I finally said. “I – I don’t
understand them.”

Jo suppressed a giggle and smiled
appreciatively.

“Yes, I remember what boys were like when I
was your age. And that’s what they were – boys. What’s going
on?”

I looked in her eyes and sighed as she took
pity on me. Her depiction of boys my age wasn’t good news.

“Well…” I thought about Nicholas. He wasn’t
what I would classify as a boy, but he sure wasn’t acting like a
man “…they can be so immature.

“Ah,” she said, as she put her arm around my
shoulder, looking at me with a tender expression. “Have patience,
they’ll grow up eventually… just give it a few years.”

“Years?”

My gift constantly reminded me girls matured
faster than boys, so I didn’t understand why this revelation
shocked me. Maybe it was because I’d compared every guy to Luke,
who was very mature for his age and hoped I’d find someone like him
someday. No one ever measured up until I met Nicholas. Or at least
that’s what I had thought. Now I wasn’t so sure.

“Well, I’m sure you heard about what
happened,” I began, my tone somber.

“With your accident? I’ve heard bits and
pieces. Tell me what happened.”

I smiled because she really wanted to know
and I kicked myself for not fighting harder to have the privilege
of sitting in her kitchen sooner. Her kind listening ear was always
there through my toughest storms. She never judged and knew exactly
when it was time for listening or time for finding solutions.

The non-mountain lion version of the story
flowed easily from my lips as I’d told it so many times already,
but I fought the urge to tell her everything, knowing she’d
overreact and tell my dad, which meant I’d never be allowed to
leave the house unchaperoned again. It hurt again to tell her how
Nicholas had reacted at the theater, which was a complete flip from
the week before. I studied her face and emotions to see what she
thought. Her quiet concern bothered me.

“I’m not sure if he really is busy, or he’s
blowing me off. What do you think?” I asked sheepishly.

She took another bite of her cookie and
thought for a moment.

“Well, I’m not sure Julia. I think young men
have a hard time expressing how they feel about things, especially
to a woman they might like. You say he seemed rushed and surprised
to run into you? I don’t think that’s a good sign.”

I bit my lip to hold back a tear. The honesty
hit me like a punch in the ribs.

“Or he might just be acting tough, like men
are supposed to act. They may like a girl, but then they don’t show
it, possibly because they are afraid they’ll be rejected. You may
think it’s easy for them, but it takes a lot of courage to put your
feelings out there. Imagine being in their shoes. Take John for
example. It took him a whole year to finally ask me out,” she said
with a chuckle.

I sighed secretly on the inside.

“I hate to tell you this, but it seems young
men don’t get over this until they get some relationship
experience. Maybe he was embarrassed because Sam was with you.”

I knew he wasn’t embarrassed. It was more
like distracted. He had a legitimate reason to go. And he was
afraid too, not the fear you feel when you’re scared, but the one
you feel when there’s impending danger.

“It’s hard to know exactly what’s changed.
I’m sorry honey. I think you need to try to move on. For some
reason, he’s not interested in getting to know you right now.”

Listening to her words, something in my heart
broke, but I knew she was right. Even though I still longed for him
to stop by my house and end my agony, I knew he wasn’t going to –
at least not this new Nicholas anyway. I needed to face the facts.
It was over. There would be no us and I needed to move on.

“Julia, these things happen. There will be a
few guys in your life that you will have a huge connection with.
Some will be poor timing for you; some will be poor timing for him.
But one day, the timing will be right for the both of you and
hopefully, that will be the one you’ll spend the rest of your life
with. I know you’ll find someone who’s as wonderful to you as John
is to me; you’ll see.”

She smiled again and I forced a fake smile in
return. Her love for him beamed like the sun reflects off new snow
and I saw John in a new light – Jo’s light. And I decided, for her,
I’d look for the good in John even if it was probably going to kill
me. After all, he did make her so happy.

She squeezed me tight and I soaked in her
aura’s sensation that I’d missed so much.

“My suggestion is to move on – find someone
new to think about. I’m sure there’s got to be another boy at
school who you might be interested in perhaps?”

She lifted her eyebrow at me and waited for
my reaction. No one came to mind at the moment, so I made a face
and shrugged. I’d never felt like that with anyone before, so
imagining myself finding another guy like him so quickly seemed
preposterous.

I shook my head.

“Well then you’ve got it bad my dear. So give
yourself some time to heal. But, if for some reason he does come
back around, find out first why he took so long before you get
upset. He may have a very good reason for making you wait. John
did.”

“Okay,” I said after a short pause, letting
it all sink in.

John’s big excuse was that he was a chicken.
I refused to think Nicholas was like him, but hopeful it wasn’t
completely over just yet. Maybe he did have a good reason and it
was something like he thought he was too old for me, or that I had
a boyfriend already. But would I have to wait a year to find
out?

Oh please dear God. That would be
dreadful.

“So, let’s move on, shall we? Get your
purse,” she said in delight. “I’m kidnapping you.”

“Kidnapping me? But…” I pointed at my
bandaged ankle.

“This won’t require walking and actually
might help your ankle.”

I gave her a suspicious look and before I
knew it, she ushered me to the car in the garage and made me get in
the front seat. Her contagious excitement made me wonder what she
was up to.

The entire ride I tried guessing our
destination, but she remained tight lipped, not revealing any hints
about where we were going until she pulled up into the parking lot
in front of a nail salon.

“We are getting pedicures,” I announced in
glee.

“Not just any type of pedicure,” she said
with a twinkle in her eye. “This one will be … different for
sure.”

I furrowed my brow. “Okay, now you’re scaring
me.”

“You’ll see, come on.”

We walked into the salon and Jo went up to
the counter and whispered to the receptionist. I looked around and
everything seemed like a normal salon. A variety of nail polishes
sat in little racks on the counter and pictures of manicured hands
and feet hung on the walls. A sign with the pricing of the services
was on a wall behind the receptionist. The only thing that struck
me odd was the sign saying they offered Dr. Fish Treatments. I sat
and waited patiently for Jo to rejoin me.

“Are you ready?” a girl with long blonde hair
said as she motioned us to follow her down the corridor. “Please
come this way.”

Jo kept watching for my reaction as we
followed the receptionist into a room with some oversized chairs. I
sat down in one and Jo sat in the other, a Cheshire grin across her
face. I was still trying to figure out what the big deal was.

“Okay, what are we going to be doing that’s
weird?” I finally asked.

“Just wait. You’ll see.”

Two ladies came into the room and introduced
themselves, then washed our feet.

“Is this your first fish treatment?” the
brunette asked me.

“I… guess so?” I looked to Jo for
reassurance, afraid I was supposed to know something.

“Yes, this is Julia’s first treatment. I’ve
had several,” Jo said.

“Fish treatment? As in real fish?” I gasped.
Images of soaking my feet in fish guts filled my head and I
panicked. “I’m not putting my feet in fish guts!”

Everyone giggled and I blushed.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” the other woman
said and she smiled kindly at me. I felt my cheeks return to
normal. “You’ll be visiting our famous Doctor Fish tank, where our
little friends are going to clean your feet for you.”