Pulse of Heroes (12 page)

Alone, Michelle wondered why this was
happening to her. Why did she question everything in the world
including her own existence? Why did she feel so all-alone in this
state of ‘lostness’? She wondered if anyone else out there had seen
what she had and felt the way she did? She wanted to seek Elliot
out and ask him directly. She wanted to ask him many questions,
although she doubted she’d believe him if he had any answers. The
only comfort she took was in her little cat Crumb, that she held on
to as if he alone understood her. He knew that there were many
strange things out there in the world, and he promised to love her
even if she was taken away in a straitjacket.

When Michelle’s birthday came around she
didn’t even remember it. It was a complete shock when on Friday the
22nd of January during lunchtime Samantha, Anna and Rachael
surprised her by singing ‘Happy Birthday’ outside her classroom
holding a cake. Of course, everybody that came out the door hung
around until the girls finished singing and a blushing Michelle
blew out the candles. “Did you remember to make a wish?” Rachael
asked once they had finished devouring almost the entire cake
between them. THAT Michelle had remembered, and that wish started
with an ‘E’. Tim, who was still cute and now definitely single,
also stopped by to wish Michelle a happy birthday. He and Bethany
were history, he had told Michelle during one of their short phone
conversations. He explained that they had made so many holiday
plans that it just seemed wrong to pull out of the relationship
right then, let alone leave Bethany without a date for the formal,
especially since she had already bought the dress. Michelle thought
Tim was a gentleman for doing that, but back then it was for that
exact reason that Michelle had been forced to put up a wall of
protection against having her feelings hurt by him. She didn’t want
to find herself in a situation where Tim was ping-ponging between
her and Bethany. She had a little more pride in herself than that.
She knew that what she wanted was a guy’s complete and total
attention, nothing less. Everyone was convinced that Tim liked her,
and that although he hadn’t asked her out, he was planning to.
Unfortunately, Michelle had just lost all interest. She tried to
will herself not to, but nothing helped. There was something about
Elliot that she didn’t find in Tim, and she couldn’t put her finger
on exactly what that was.

For her birthday, Michelle’s parents
surprised her by starting a savings account towards her first car.
They deposited $1500 into it, and it was to be untouchable unless
she closed the account. A car would be great, she thanked them. But
even then her mom could see that there was something on her
daughter’s mind that was taking a toll on her. For her actual
birthday, which was on the 23rd, they had made dinner reservations
for the three of them at a posh new restaurant in town. As they
drove past it there was a line of people waiting to get in, and the
sight of so much commotion made Michelle shrink in her own skin.
Her mother caught her looking sad from the rearview mirror of the
car.

“What is it dear? Don’t tell me you’re
getting the birthday blues at your age?” she asked, and Michelle
fought to come up with a good reason.

“It just seems so loud and busy,” she said.
“I was looking forward to spending time with you, not with the
entire town.”

“Oh?” said her mother, trying to conceal her
disappointment as she had held on to the reservations for over
three weeks. But it was Michelle’s birthday and it was her choice.
Her father called up the restaurant and asked the surprised and
slightly rude host to cancel the reservation.

“Zis is for zee Andrews’ reservation?” he
asked in a most disdained French accent.

“Yes,” her father said, stifling a laugh. “My
daughter is allergic to French cuisine, especially on her
birthdays. Yes, goodnight to you too sir.” They all laughed, even
Michelle.

The family ended up at their favorite pizza
place, ‘Little Napoli’. It was a place that they had been going to
ever since Toby was a baby. They settled into their favorite
faux-green leather booth and didn’t need to specify an order
because the waitress, the owner’s daughter, already knew their
‘regular’.

Michelle was actually very content chewing on
the sourdough pizza crust. It had been a while since she had felt
this peaceful, she thought to herself, marveling how a simple slice
of pizza can usually do the trick. She also didn’t seem to care too
much that Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. Who cares
what people think at school, she mused to herself. Michelle reached
for her soda and took a large gulp, but just as she was about to
set it back down on the table, from the corner of her eye, off to
the left she noticed two people in one of the rear booths. They
were almost hidden by a shadow that was cast by the arched ceiling
and it took her eyes a couple of seconds to make out their faces.
It couldn’t be! What were the chances? Xander was there, sitting at
the small wooden table facing towards the front, and across from
him sat someone who was animatedly explaining something.

A group of people entered the restaurant and
when Xander looked up out of habit to see who it was, his eyes
settled on Michelle staring back at him. He tried nonchalantly to
return his gaze back to his companion, but it was too late because
that person had already turned to see what Xander was looking at,
and a second later they were both staring at Michelle. Xander and
Elliot.

Michelle did what her instincts told her, and
that was to get up and leave the scene. She had thought about
seeing Elliot again so many times but when it came to that becoming
reality, she felt overwhelmed. Her parents were talking about God
knows what, so when she swiftly rose from her seat and told them
that she needed some fresh air, they didn’t think anything of it.
Outside, she could breathe at last, and could see her own breath in
the night air. It was that cold, but for her it felt cool and
refreshing.

Back in the restaurant, Elliot felt trapped.
He knew that he would have to pass by Michelle and her family when
he and Xander were ready to leave, and he had no intention of
making small talk with any of them. When he saw Michelle run off
like a frightened rabbit, he seized the perfect opportunity to
sneak away, although Xander was taken aback by his erratic
behavior.

“Why, we didn’t even get halfway through
dinner?” Xander asked, as the waitress went to get them their
change. But Elliot was already on his feet and heading towards the
door. The waitress returned with Elliot’s change and he told her to
just keep it.

“All of it?” she asked in surprise, looking
at the thirty-three dollars in her hand, but they were already
gone.

When Michelle saw Elliot and Xander emerge
from the restaurant, she immediately ducked into the adjacent
alleyway and stooped behind a commercial trash bin, holding her
breath. When she peeked around the corner she saw Xander pulling at
Elliot’s jacket to stop him mid-step. Elliot turned around to face
Xander and he was obviously disturbed.

“There is nothing to talk about,” Elliot
said.

“But I haven’t seen you act like this in a
long time,” Xander replied, scanning Elliot’s face to try and
comprehend his state of mind. Elliot searched for a way to explain
himself, but all he could muster up was that he didn’t like the
food. Xander laughed. “We’ve eaten here three times and suddenly
you don’t like the food? I think that’s the worst lie you’ve come
up with yet.”

Elliot knew he wasn’t making sense, so in a
lower voice he told Xander that he didn’t like the company. Xander
was puzzled.

“The Andrews girl? She’s a nice kid. I don’t
see the problem.”

“She was there on Halloween!” Elliot said
more urgently.

“So what? So were the other two girls, and
none of them saw you,” Xander answered, confused.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Elliot
said, less patiently.

“You mean at the mall, during the holidays?
She just glanced in our direction. Nothing more. Just a young woman
looking at some young men, like you haven’t seen that happen
before. Please. Unless there’s something else you’re not telling
me.”

Elliot was not satisfied. “We’ll just have to
be more careful when we plan our outings.”

“But there’s no possible way she saw anything
tonight or that night to raise suspicions. You’re just being overly
analytical, that’s all,” Xander said, putting his arm around
Elliot’s shoulder. “Maybe we should eat in more often.”

Elliot looked at Xander thoughtfully and
agreed, “You’re right. It must be the new setting. I guess I am
being somewhat paranoid.”

“Somewhat,” Xander said laughing, as they
crossed the street and got into the Thunderbird.

When Michelle heard their car pull away from
the curb, she emerged from the alleyway and stood at the front of
the restaurant for a few seconds, trying to remember the exact
words of the conversation she had just heard. But before she could
put any of it into a logical form, her mother peeked her head from
inside the doorway and asked her if she was all right. “Yes Mom,”
Michelle said, faking her best smile possible, and walked back
inside.

That night, Michelle couldn’t sleep at all.
She didn’t even try. She was going around and around in her head
thinking about everything she had overheard. She wondered if Elliot
hated her; she actually worried about that a lot. Why did he not
want to see her at all, even to say hello? What did Xander mean
about, “not seeing anything that night”? What was she supposed to
not see? She wondered why Elliot didn’t tell Xander about busting
her on the school grounds, or that he had helped her escape. What
was his reason for keeping their meeting hush-hush? Michelle
reflected that whatever the reason was, it was most likely a good
sign. Elliot and she shared something that no one else knew about;
they had their own secret. She must talk to him again, she thought
before falling asleep. She would have to find a way.

For the next few weeks, Michelle was busy
trying to find a job. The savings account her parents had started
had motivated her to earn more so she could buy her own car by
summertime. Her parents worried about the time commitment a job
would require, when she also needed time to study and do homework.
But Michelle assured them that she would make sure to find a job
that gave her the flexibility. She needed time, not just for her
schoolwork, but also for other necessities, like finding a way to
see Elliot again. She couldn’t stop conjuring up his image; he was
always there in the background of her every move and thought.

Michelle scoured the internet want-ads,
posted her name and phone number and the hours she was willing to
work in every public place she could think of, and even asked her
father to ask around. For about a week nothing happened, and she
was ready to give up on the whole car thing. But her luck changed
midway through the second week, and she was hired to help with food
deliveries from the local grocery store. Her job was to take orders
from clients, schedule the weekly afternoon deliveries, and
occasionally even go out with the driver to help. It seemed to be
pretty basic stuff, and she only had to come in three times a week.
Fridays she would take the orders for the following week, and on
Mondays and Tuesdays she would help with collecting the items for
the deliveries and call the clients to confirm that they would be
home. The pay wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing.

Michelle fit right in with everyone else that
worked at the market. Since the store was small and independent, it
was much friendlier and warmer then the big-box food conglomerates.
Of course, everyone knew who she was because of her ‘famous’
father, and since she was also the youngest person working there,
they gave her some extra leniency. Michelle enjoyed her job, and
developed a rapport with many of the regular clients. Most of them
were older folks who didn’t drive much, but there were other
clients as well. A few private chefs ordered food for entire
households, and the rest were regular people that were just too
busy to shop. In less than a month, Michelle could recognize most
of them over the phone, and she even got a beautiful thank-you card
for great service from sweet Mrs. Bianchetti. When these special
clients phoned in their orders she would take extra care with their
produce list, personally choosing their fruits and vegetables to
make sure they got the best stuff.

One particular Friday, Michelle received an
unusually large order. It was a new client who ordered multiples of
many items. Michelle was her naturally friendly self and joked that
it sounded like they were about to feed an army.

“Yes,” the client joked back, “almost.” When
Michelle asked him for the usual name and delivery address, the
answer she got was an answer to her prayers. Michelle nearly
dropped the phone out of shock and excitement. The client said to
put it under Mr. Xander De Costa’s name and to have the delivery
made to the
Hekademos Learning Center
at #84 Argos Vela Way.
“Are you still there?” the voice asked when Michelle didn’t
respond.

“Yes, I’m here,” she answered, trying to
steady her voice. “Who am I speaking to? For our records of course.
And I will need a phone number to confirm the delivery.”

“This is Kahl,” the voice answered, giving
her the number.

Michelle just couldn’t believe her luck.
“Thank you, Kahl,” she said before hanging up the phone.
Afterwards, she sat at the desk unable to do much of anything but
fantasize about seeing Elliot again. This was her chance; she
mustn’t blow it.