Being Invisible (10 page)

My mind has been on our upcoming
weekend all day today. I have been doing research on a pet expo coming to our
area, but my heart isn’t in it.

Today is Thursday, and so far
Colin has yet to cancel. In fact, he has even sent me a couple texts saying how
he can’t wait to spend the weekend with me, and to tell me how much fun we are
going to have. I even got a text this morning.

“
You know we’ll be there until Tuesday, therefore, naked rules apply on
the drive home.”

To top it all off, Colin told me
last night that his Uncle Phil is letting us use his cabin to “make it
special.”

Special? Like marriage proposal special?

I don’t want to get too excited,
based on Colin’s track record, but he seems to be looking forward to the trip
as much as I am. So I have allowed myself a little bit of hope that this weekend
may work out well.

I’m thinking about the snacks I
plan to buy for the car trip when Ruth, another researcher in the department,
flies into my cubicle. In typical Ruth fashion, she’s wearing four-inch heels,
which brings her to about five foot three. She’s wearing a yellow shift dress
with a white headband. Her bright colors fit her personality.

“Lucy, hey! I am so glad you’re
here. I have exciting news.”

“Pasta bar in the cafeteria
today?” I’m only kind of teasing. Ruth thinks the fact that we got a new hotdog
stand on the corner of our block is exciting news, so most of the time I take
her excitement with a grain of salt.

“It’s pasta day in the cafeteria?
That’s not my news, but that is awesome. You think they will have bowtie pasta
again?”

“They always have bowtie pasta,
Ruth. So, what’s the big news?”

“Right. My news. I think I might
get to be on air!”

“That’s amazing! How did that come
about?”

“I talked to Alex today. And he
told me that if I can track down a big news story, he will air it. And…"
she pauses for dramatic effect. "If I do well, it might mean more airtime
for me! I could be ‘Ruth Paige, investigative reporter.’ Her voice changes to
fit that of a reporter announcing her story.

“I can’t wait to see it.” I am
excited for her. She’s made for the camera. “So, what’s the big story you are
going to scoop, Ruth Paige, Investigative Reporter?” She holds out her hand
like she wants me to shake it.

“You’re going to flip when you
hear. I am going to interview The Vapor. Can you believe it?”

Nope, not even a little bit.

Now I feel bad. I want her to have
her big moment, but she has zero chance of getting an interview with the Vapor.
But of course I am not going to tell her that. I mean, how would I know?

“I heard he doesn’t do interviews
with anyone, like ever.” It’s believable, because it’s true. I’ve heard the
talk.

“Well, I know it’s not going to be
easy. But this is a chance for my big break. Do you know how many people have
that kind of chance? I can’t waste it. I‘m going to do whatever it takes. And I
am going to put my heart into it 100%. I am going to find The Vapor, beg him
for an interview, and find out what makes him tick.” She counts off with her
fingers each step to getting her story.

Damn it. Now I feel terrible. “Do
you have any idea how you are going to find him? I hear it’s tricky with the
whole ‘not being able to see him’ thing.”

“That’s where my powers of
research come in. The Vapor works with a couple of guys in the PD, right? So, I
plan to start at the station. Once I find out where they need him, I will just
show up there and every other place he goes until he realizes that it will be
easier to just let me interview him, than to endure my perseverance.”

“Sounds like you thought of
everything.” I’m not sure where to go from here. I want to support her, but
Colin will never agree to an interview. Not to mention he’s hard to pin down.
Half the time I don’t know where he is, and we’re practically married in my
mind.

“I hope so. I’ve been planning for
a moment like this for, like, my entire life. I mean, how often does a person
get to say, “The Vapor? Yeah, I know him. Oh, he saved your cousin’s,
girlfriend’s cat from a tree? Well, I know how he takes his eggs.”

I have to laugh. “That’s what
you’re going to ask him? You get the elusive superhero to agree to an
interview, and your first question you’re going to ask is going to be, ‘how do
you take your eggs?’”

“Not the first question. Just one
of the questions. He’s our small town hero. People want to know about him. I’ll
start him off easy with what he does for fun, we will work up to his favorite
breakfast, and by the end he’ll feel so comfortable with me, I’ll have him
telling me who he wants to have his invisible babies.”

“Well, keep me posted on how it’s
going.”

“Of course. Maybe you can even
help me come up with some questions.”

“How about boxers or briefs?

Ruth snaps her fingers and points
to me, indicating that she likes my idea, then adds her own.

“Lick or bite?”

At my raised eyebrows, she laughs.
“I was talking about popsicles… Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Right. Because everyone wants to
know how he eats his summer treats.”

“I give the people what they ask
for, Lucy.”

“On that note, I need to get back
to researching animal psychics. We can’t leave the public uninformed before the
expo. How else are they going to spot a fraud?” I roll myself in my chair to my
desk to begin the task of getting to the down and dirty of doggie telepathy.

“Pet psychics? I totally want to
do that. I would go buy a dog, just to take to the expo so that I could have
the psychic tell me what he's thinking.”

"He will probably be
thinking, 'who the hell buys a dog to find out what he's thinking?’"

"Maybe he will be thinking,
'finally!' If all he wants is to be heard." Ruth pretends to be wounded by
my words, and turns to leave.

"Bye, Ruth!"

"Bye… Don't forget to grab me
for pasta later!"

After Ruth leaves, I decide to
take a quick break to give Colin a heads up about Ruth's plan to annoy him into
submission. I head outside and sit at a bench so that I can get some privacy.
Colin picks up after the second ring.

"Hello, Miss Lucy. What can I
do for you today?"

"Hi Hon. I just wanted to
prepare you. My friend from work, Ruth..."

"Let me guess. She's trying
to get the lowdown on Vapor." His voice sounds weary.

"How did you know?"

"According to Rob, she called
the station this morning asking about what kind of assignments I take. Their
'no comment' seemed to fall on deaf ears since she is planning on visiting
today just to see what the big stories are. What do you think? Should I be
worried about this?"

"I don't think so. She seemed
pretty tenacious this morning, but she's like the nicest person in the world. I
can't see her causing too much trouble."

"Well, since you work with
her, you can have the job of keeping her away."

"Keep her away? How do you
think I should go about doing that? Should I tie her to a chair? Poison her
latte?"

"I don't know Lucy. I don't
have time to think about this. I just thought that since she's your friend you
could deal with her."

"You're the one who's
invisible. If she asks questions, don't answer them. It's not like she can
follow you."

"I know, Luce." Colin's
voice has lost some of its edge. "I just don't need one more thing."

"Okay, I’ll see what I can do.
And don't worry. After this weekend, you will be so relaxed you will be able to
take on anything."

"I'm counting on it babe. I
am going to Scrabble you so bad...you won't know what to do with all my big,
long words.” It's good to see a glimpse of playful Colin.

"I love your big words. But
don't even think about making words up. You know I can always tell when you are
faking it."

"Please. I don't need to fake
it. I'm just that good."

"So you're telling me hubly is a word?"

"It is."

"Even though it's nowhere in
the dictionary?"

"It's a new word. It just
hasn't made it in yet."

"You are so ahead of the
times." I deadpan.

"You have no idea."

"Well, you go finish working,
then pack and rest up for tomorrow, because I’m expecting multiple words from
you."

"Sounds like I have my work
cut out for me."

"
You
have no idea. See you tomorrow, hon. I love you."

"I love you too, Luce. I work
until noon then I’m picking you up right after, so be ready."

"I already am."

 
I have been, for a long
time.
I think to
myself, suddenly feeling hopeful for what's to come.

 
I hang up the phone and smile.

“Is he a president?” Colin is
tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in time with “I Will Wait” by Mumford
and Sons.

“Yes! He was a president,” I
exclaim.

 
We have been playing the game “guess a
person” since we left Columbus. Unfortunately, most of that time has been me
trying to get Colin to guess Abraham Lincoln.

Is it Washington?

“No.”

“Adams?”

“No.”

“Jefferson?”

“Is that how were we are going to
do this? You naming every president in order?” I mock glare at him and throw a
cheese puff his way. It bounces off his head and lands on his lap. He picks it
up and eats it then winks at me. I shake my head before popping a cheese puff
in my mouth.

“Fine. Is he on money?”

“Yes! Good question.”

“Okay, There’s, Lincoln...”

     
Before he has a
chance to go through every coin I interrupt. “Yes! Lincoln. Finally!”

“Well you threw me off when you
said that he was someone you would date. Weirdly enough, my first thought
wasn’t ‘president from the 1800’s.’I was thinking more along the lines of Ian
Somerhalder or something.’”

“You didn’t ask me if I would date
him. You asked me if I would spend a night with him. I was picturing hanging
out with him while he tells me about ending slavery. I didn’t know you meant
spend
the
night with him. You should
have asked me ‘would you want to have his babies?’ if you wanted to know that.

“You want to have Ian
Somerhalder’s babies?” Colin looks wounded, which only makes me laugh.

“No.” I pause before adding, “Do
you think he would be up for it?”

 
Colin just shakes his head and turns the
music up. The sounds of The Divine Fits ‘My love is real’ fill the car.

I grab his hand and give it a
quick squeeze. In return, he pulls my hand to his lips and kisses it, then
places both our hands on his leg.

We spend the rest of the trip
singing along with my ‘Games We Play’ mix and enjoying the spring day. Every
once in a while he rubs the back of my hand with his thumb, while I l
occasionally lean over as far as my seatbelt lets me, and kiss his face. By the
time we arrive at the cabin, I am already much more relaxed and happy.

After pulling our bags out of the
trunk and dropping them in our room, Colin immediately grabs my hand. “Come
with me.”

 
He pulls me outside, where a large deck
overlooks a lake, which is mostly surrounded by woods. While I enjoy the view,
Colin falls onto the wicker couch and pulls me down with him.

“Before game night, I want to
spend a little time reminding myself what your lips feel like.” He pulls my
legs over his, and leans in for a kiss.

Good. He misses me too.

He kisses me deeply, holding
nothing back. At the same time I sigh, he bites my lower lip, then kisses the
area he just bit. He does the same to my top lip before moving to my ear, where
he whispers in a low voice “I miss these lips.”

I return his kiss then pull away
briefly. “I miss these arms.” I say as I pull his around me, urging him to pull
me close.

He tightens his grip, then
murmurs, “I miss this earlobe,” right before biting it.

I laugh and kiss him again. “I
miss your-” Before I have a chance to finish my sentence, a loud clap of thunder
startles me.

“What the hell was that?”

Colin looks up at the sky at the
same time as me, a confused look on his face. “The weather report said clear
skies.” Not five seconds after he says the words, we hear another clap of
thunder, followed by a downpour.

"Looks like the weather
report was wrong.” Colin laughs, before grabbing my hand and running in the
house.

In the few seconds it takes to get
to the door, we are soaked.

“I guess my plans to take you on a
walk along the lake are on hold.” Colin says while grabbing towels from a
nearby linen closet.

He throws a towel around my
shoulders and pulls me to him. After attempting to dry me off he places a quick
kiss on my forehead.
 
He starts to
dry himself, but stops and grins. Based on his smile, I can guess he’s up to
something. As soon as I hear him mumble something about us being wet anyway, I
know for sure he is.

Before I have a chance to register
what he’s doing, he picks me up, throws me over his shoulder and walks me into
the sunroom. From my upside down view, I can see a filled hot tub.
 
As soon as I realize his intentions, I
make an attempt to say something along the lines of “wait, no, don’t,” before
he throws me in clothes and all.
 

Colin hits the switch to turn the
jets on, then jumps in after me.

Oh well...being dry is overrated
anyway.

An hour later, there is a fire in
the fireplace, and we are eating pizza and playing Scrabble in our sweats.

I am about seventeen points ahead
when I remember my goal.

“Care to make this interesting?” I
ask, raising my eyebrows in anticipation.

“Interesting how?” I can tell
Colin’s curiosity is piqued.

“How about every time someone gets
a double or triple letter score she...”

“Or he,” Colin interrupts.

“Or he,” I agree with an eye roll,
“gets to make the other person take off an article of clothing of his
or her
choosing.”

“I like your thinking. And I sense
some big words coming on.” Colin starts eyeing the board, looking at his
letters as if he’s negotiating a major business transaction.

I lean back in my chair, waiting
for his move.

“Wait...What about a double or
triple
word
score? What do we get
then?”

“Huh...I don’t know. Extra pizza?”
I look at him innocently.

“Extra pizza? I don’t think so. I
know you can come up with something better than that.”

“Then why don’t you think of
something Mr. Negotiator?”

Colin taps his finger against his
lip, presumably deep in thought. “How about double or triple word score means
you get to ask the other person any thing you want, and the other person has to
say yes?”

His idea surprises me.

What kind of “thing” will he ask for?

 
My mind flashes through all of the
possibilities. I nod my head slowly, looking into his eyes for any signs of his
intent.

“Great. I have to make a list of
all the things you are going to say yes to.”
 
With that he places his word dangerously
close to a double word tile, undoubtedly planning for his next move.

“So are you curious about what
you
are going to be saying yes to?” I
laugh, then place the word ‘staple’ down, purposely avoiding triple word areas.
He can have those.

“As much as I would love to say
yes to you all day long, my vocabulary skills are just too
prodigious
for you. You don't even have a chance.”

“Wow. Big
word Vapor. Nice to see that you are making good use of your Thesaurus app.”

“You’re just
being invidious.”

“Really, Colin? Do you even know
what that word means? Something tells me there might be some cheating going on
here.”

Colin eyes me with confidence
before laying his word down.

“Double letter score baby. That’s
not cheating. That’s awesomeness.”

“Consider yourself lucky,” I
mutter while taking off my sweats.

“Did you just say that I am going
to get lucky?” Colin teases. Because that’s what I heard.”

Just for that I place my word over
a triple letter tile, and glare at him. “Your turn.” I say, leaning back in my
chair to take in the view.

Colin takes off his shirt and
throws it over my head.

I nod once in appreciation.

Colin starts to pick up his tiles,
when we hear a knock on the door.

I look at him, confusion on my
face. Colin shrugs, and shakes his head. He has no idea either.

After handing me my sweatpants and
slipping on his shirt, he heads over to the door.

“Stay back, just in case.” Colin
makes sure I am completely dressed, then opens the door slightly. After seeing
who it is, he pulls the door the rest of the way open. “Hey, Robbie. How is it
going?”

Rob? Why is Rob here?

“Pretty good, man.” Rob shakes
Colin’s hand before turning to me. “Hi, Lucy. Sorry to interrupt.”

I nod weakly, unsure of why he
would be here.

“What’s up?” Colin asks. He
glances at me, then at Rob. He seems nervous.

Why does he seem nervous?

“Sorry, Col. I really don’t want
to get in the way of your weekend, but I thought you would want to know.”

Colin nods in understanding, so Rob
continues. “You were right. The location for the drop is near here.”

“What drop?” I ask, getting more
worried by the second.

Rob looks at Colin, waiting for
his response.

Colin takes a deep breath before
speaking. “A huge drug cartel. They’ve got their hands in a lot of things. None
of it legal.” I can tell he’s not finished with the story, but he’s hesitating
for some reason.

“And?” I ask quietly.

“I overheard a conversation when I
was invisible. Something they said connected. I wasn’t positive, but it made me
think of a diner in town. I thought that might be where the next deal is going
down. Turns out I was right. ” He looks down when he says it, then glances at
me like he knows how I am going to react.

“Lee’s Diner? The one five miles
down the street?” My voice is just above a whisper.

“Yes.”

“So that’s why we’re here?” My
voice shakes, but I take a deep breath and swallow. No tears. “You didn’t bring
me here to make it special, you did it so you could stop a drug deal?”

“No, Luce it’s not like that. I
wanted to take you away. I did. I just knew that there was a chance…”

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it,
Colin. If you wanted to ‘take me away’ you would have found the spot farthest
away from all of this. Instead, you take me right to it. You were allowing me
to believe this was for me so that you could be the superhero you are ‘meant to
be’ while avoiding a fight with your girlfriend. That’s it, right?”

“Lucy, No. I love you. No one
really thought…I mean I wasn’t sure. I still plan on spending the weekend with
you, just… after. This doesn’t have to ruin it.”

“When is this deal ‘going down?’”
My question is directed at Rob.

“Uh, tomorrow sometime.” Rob looks
between us, then decides the ceiling would be a much better visual than either
of us.
 

“Well. You are in luck because
Colin has no other plans.”

Colin starts to speak, but I stop
him before he says something that we will both regret.

“Don’t even start. Whatever you
think you are going to say, I’m sure I don’t want to hear it.”

“If you would just listen…” Colin
raises his arms in frustration, while I cross my arms over my chest in
defiance.

“Hey guys, I um-” before Rob can
finish his sentence Colin and I both snap at him. “What?” we shout in unison.

“Sorry. I’m going to uh, I just
have to... you know what?
 
You guys
are on your own. I’m not even going to pretend like you’re not making me
uncomfortable as hell. So, I’m leaving.” He gives us a half wave before walking
out the door.

My brain hurts. My head hurts. And
I don’t want to talk about any of it. So, I do the only thing that comes to
mind. I walk away, and hope he doesn’t follow me. I can’t take much more of his
save the world shit right now.

As soon as I am in the bedroom I
slam the door. Before I can lock it, Colin comes barging in.

“Luce…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Colin.”
So much for not crying in front of him. “I thought…” I take a deep breath and
wipe my eyes before continuing. “I thought you brought me here because you
wanted to show me that I am more important to you than all this other stuff.”

“You are. I am trying to find a
way to make it work. My job, being a hero, finding time with you. I thought by
bringing you here, I could do both. It’s only a few hours.” Colin rubs his face
and runs his hands through his hair in exasperation.

“Fine, Colin. Go tomorrow. It’s
obviously important.

Colin looks at me, unsure what to
do. He slowly walks into my space and puts his arms around me. I don’t want him
near me, but I also don’t want to be anywhere but in his arms. I don’t know what
to do. I love him so much, but I am beginning to think that it’s not enough.