Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance (47 page)

In the truck, over the sounds of
ripping, chewing, and the dying grunts and groans of a dying human being, the
Brewers got back the lead.  Overhead, birds circled.  The lake glistened.

Jeremy stood in
front of the security checkpoint and watched the stream of people flood by.  He
was trying hard not to look suspicious.  Airports made him uncomfortable, what
with all of the security guards.  Even though he’d done nothing wrong, he felt
guilty and expected a burly security guard to usher him into a tiny room at any
moment.  He shifted nervously from one foot to the other and peered into the
crowd, then checked his watch for the umpteenth time.

Jeremy was notoriously early,
almost to a fault.  Whenever he tried to show up late or on time, he ended up
catching all of the green lights.  He’d arrived at the airport far too early,
which only added to his feeling that he had done something wrong.   He’d driven
around the airport a couple of times before deciding that doing so made him
look even more suspicious. Eventually he decided to head inside and realized it
was very hard to stand in an airport these days and not feel like a terrorist.

  According to the
"Arrivals" board, Stephen and Veronica’s flight was right on time,
which meant it should have landed about three minutes ago. Jeremy checked his
watch again to be sure. 

"Excuse me," said a voice
directly behind Jeremy.

Jeremy turned and found a girl of
about sixteen standing there, awkward and shy.  It took only a few seconds for
him to realize she was holding one of his novels in her hand.  It was his
latest one – the one that had finally generated a little Hollywood interest and
would likely lead to a deal from a larger publisher.  Being recognized from the
book’s dust jacket was new to Jeremy.

"Yes?"  Jeremy asked the
girl.

"You're the author,
right?"  She held up the book like a holy tablet.  Jeremy’s own face
looked back at him with a stupid, forced grin.

"Yes, that's me.  Have you
finished it?"

"No," she said, "not
yet.  But I really like it so far."

"Well, I hope you like the
ending."

She giggled nervously.  "Can I
have your autograph, please?"

"Do you have a pen?"
Jeremy asked.

She produced one.  It turned out
her name was Jennifer.  He should have guessed that.  Every pretty,
honey-blonde girl Jeremy had ever met, it seemed, was named Jennifer.  He
signed the book with a message that sounded like he’d known her forever.  The
girl smiled and thanked him, stood there awkwardly for another moment, and then
ran off.

Jeremy smiled as she departed. 
There were other people looking at him now.  Most of them stared at Jeremy,
confused, because they had seen him sign the autograph but had no idea who he
was.  Most of them whispered amongst themselves, trying to figure out if Jeremy
was someone important they should know. Some were even so rude as to point
directly at him.  For a moment Jeremy wished the ground would open up and
swallow him.

Jeremy looked back toward the
gate.  Finally, there they were.  But his face dropped when he saw them both. 
Veronica and Stephen walked several feet apart.  In fact, Stephen marched
slightly ahead of Veronica.  Neither of them smiled; they looked like they
would rather be anywhere else but together.  Jeremy sighed and raised his hand.

"Hey guys!" he shouted.

Veronica broke into a smile and
waved.  Stephen did the same just a moment later, then he slowed down and let
Veronica catch up.  They clamped their hands together in a gesture Jeremy could
tell was forced. 

"Were you just signing an
autograph?" Stephen asked him.

"How long were you guys
standing there?" Jeremy asked.

"Long enough to see you still
like to trawl the high schools."

Veronica elbowed Stephen’s ribs.
"Leave him alone."

Veronica put down her suitcase,
threw her arms around Jeremy, and planted a kiss on his cheek.  Jeremy smelled
her perfume and let the embrace linger for a moment.  Then he broke away and
stuck his hand out to shake Stephen's.

"It's good to see you
guys," Jeremy stated.  "Are you sure you're ready for this
weekend?"

"Yeah," Stephen said.
"I'm looking forward to getting away from it all."

Jeremy reached down and grabbed
Veronica's bag.  She took up a position next to Stephen and grabbed his hand
again.  Jeremy noticed the merest hint of something in her expression that
indicated she wasn’t entirely happy doing so.  She looked as if she’d just
grabbed hold of the pulsating tentacle of a giant squid.

"How's business these
days?" Jeremy asked.

"That's one of the things I
will be glad to get away from for a while," Stephen said.  "I’m
always walking around with a Bluetooth in my ear and a cell phone in my hand. 
I feel like a goddamn cyborg most of the time."

Stephen had left the corporate
world about two years ago to start his own business consulting firm.  At first
it was something he did in his spare time, but then his client list began to
grow.  Before he knew it he was incorporated, and then he was contracting jobs
to other people to do the actual consulting work.  Stephen was now gradually
expanding outside of the St. Louis area and he was worried about having to
travel more.  Jeremy knew from private conversations that his friend was having
problems with his wife.  Being on the road would not help.

Jeremy and Stephen had known each
other since college.  For some reason, ages ago, they had established a kind of
mock hostility towards each other in their manner of speaking.  To the rest of
the world this appeared shocking and as if they didn’t care, but in fact Jeremy
and Stephen found it hilarious.

"What about you?" Jeremy
asked Veronica.

"I'm doing well," she
said.  "I think I'm in line for a promotion."

Veronica worked as a recruiter for
one of the city's larger recruitment firms. It was a job she had taken upon
moving to St. Louis three years ago.  She had almost immediately moved into the
respected position that earned her huge commissions.  Veronica’s work also
required her to travel a lot and work many hours.  The combination of their
busy schedules and constant traveling was what had put the initial strain on
their relationship.  Then, recent problems in the reproduction department had
just about ripped them apart.  Jeremy worried for his friends.

"I'm glad you guys are doing well,"
Jeremy said, hoping he sounded sincere and not ironic.

A sudden silence fell over the
three of them.  It was one of those awkward silences that Jeremy feared would
occur often over the weekend. 

"So, how long does it take to
get there?" Stephen said.

"About four hours,"
Jeremy replied.

"What's the plan from
here?" Veronica asked, even though Jeremy knew that she was already aware
of the plans.

"We head back to my place for
a moment and, hopefully, Amelia will be there shortly thereafter.  Then we'll head
out right after that.  We should be there before the sun goes down."

"I hope I can smoke a cigar
once I get there," Stephen remarked.

Jeremy nodded. "I have a huge
front porch. I think we can fit one in."

"No television though?"
Stephen asked.  "How do you live without a plasma screen television and
TiVO?"

"You find ways," Jeremy
replied.

"Awwww," Stephen said.
"Amelia lets you touch her boobies?  That’s how you pass the time,
right?"

Jeremy laughed.  Veronica rolled
her eyes, stifled a laugh and then elbowed Stephen again.

"Your jealousy is noted,"
Jeremy replied.

They stepped out of the airport and
walked into the parking lot.  It took several minutes to find where he’d parked
the car.  Jeremy threw Veronica’s suitcase into the trunk of the car and Stephen
did the same with his own.

"Is this a new one?"
Stephen asked.

"It's Amelia's," Jeremy
said.  "I still drive a Jeep."

"Damn," Stephen said as
he climbed into the passenger seat. "It's too bad we can't take that with
us this weekend.  You ever actually been off-roading before?"

"No," Jeremy said.
"I live in a real city, remember?"

“Shut up,” Stephen replied. 
"Yeah, with your air pollution and rush hour traffic that lasts all
night.  I'm really jealous."

"Yeah," Jeremy said,
"and I really miss all of that humidity and the severe thunderstorms every
few days during July and August."

The two of them laughed as Jeremy
reversed the car.  A few years back, Jeremy had lived in the St. Louis area,
too.  This was during his first marriage, which had apparently been obvious as
a doomed affair to everyone but him.  Jeremy had also gone to college down
there, which is where he first met Stephen.  Stephen was hardly a man in love
with St. Louis, but since Jeremy had moved to Chicago, Stephen had been trying
to convince him to come back.  Jeremy had remained resolute on the matter.

"We should probably stop
before we get to your place," Stephen suggested.

"Why?" Jeremy asked.

"So we can get snacks and
stuff for the trip; plus I need beer."

"Why didn't you come prepared?"
Jeremy asked.  "We are on a bit of a tight schedule here.  I hate driving
in the dark and there’s not much in the way of streetlights up there.  It makes
finding the place harder than you’d think."

"They don't exactly let you
bring bottles of beer on the plane with you."

"Well, what about once we get
up there?"

Stephen shrugged.  "Do you
have beer up there?"

"You know I don't drink
beer."

"Then I guess we need to buy
some before we leave."

"Amelia's going to be waiting
for us."

"It'll take ten minutes, for
crying out loud."

Jeremy sighed.  "Fine, we'll
stop at the store near the apartment."

"You should learn to drink
beer," Stephen said.

"Hey, you got me to drink
wine," Jeremy said. "Consider yourself lucky."

"We should pick up a bottle or
two of that," Veronica said from the back seat.  "They don't let you
bring bottles of wine on the flights either."

They drove through crawling traffic
until they reached the exit near Jeremy and Amelia's apartment.  Then they
fought their way through even more traffic until they reached a store with a
liquor selection Jeremy figured would appeal to Stephen.  While Jeremy had
never developed a particular taste for alcohol or, in particular, beer, Stephen
loved the stuff.  To Jeremy it tasted like bitter urine, but it appealed to
Stephen.  Stephen liked strange Belgian beers in particular.
Rodenbach 
was
his favourite.

They exited the car and entered the
bustling store.  Almost immediately, Veronica and Stephen divided the labor.

"I'll go get snacks and
stuff," Veronica said.  "Jeremy, is there anything you want?"

"No, I'm fine."  Jeremy
smiled.  Veronica offered a strained smile in return and then walked off.

"Okay," Jeremy said once
she was out of earshot. "Tell me what the hell is going on with you
two."

Jeremy grabbed a cart and began
pushing it in front of him.  Typically, it was the one cart with a squeaky
wheel.

"You know what's going on with
us," Stephen said, not looking directly at Jeremy.

"I thought you two were going
to work things out?"

Stephen sighed. "We've reached
an impasse."

"I never understood your
obsession with this."

"I've wanted to have my own
family and be a father for as long as I can remember.  She knew that when we
met and when we got married.  Now she says she's changed her mind.  That's a
deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned."

"She loves her career,"
Jeremy said as his eyes and attention wandered over the products lining the
shelves.  "Why can't you understand that?  She'd have to put everything on
hold to have a kid with you.  You wouldn't give up your career."

"Again," Stephen said as
he scanned the shelves, "I told her what I wanted from the beginning.  She
knew what she was getting into."

Jeremy shook his head. "You've
always been this way, Stephen. If things don’t fall immediately and permanently
into your plans, you discard them."

"What should I do?"
Stephen said.  "Should I wait and wait and wait?  I don't want to become a
father for the first time when I'm forty.  I made it clear to her from the
beginning that this is what I wanted.  I don't want to waste any more time if
it's not going to advance things for me."

"What about her, though?"

"Again, it just seems to me
like she's breaking the deal."

"People and living things
aren't disposable, Stephen.  It's just like when you insisted I should get rid
of that dog I had."

At one time, Jeremy had owned a
dog.  It had actually been the idea of his ex-wife to get one. Jeremy warned
her that taking care of it could take a lot of time and effort, but she
insisted. So, they had gotten a puppy.  Before long, though, the dog grew up
and became anti-social.  The dog became overprotective of Jeremy and wouldn't
let anyone else near him.  It made socializing at home impossible. When the
marriage ended, Jeremy was alone.  That dog was the only thing that kept him
company and Jeremy had always felt he owed the dog as much loyalty as it had
given him.  Stephen tried repeatedly to convince him to get rid of the dog;
maybe get a new one.  Jeremy didn’t agree.  He felt that you did not discard a
life just because it was not meeting up to some expectations you had set on its
behalf.

"I'm not having her put to
sleep," Stephen said.  "I just want to start a family.  I just think
this kind of thing will breed resentment. Hell, it already has.  So, what
should I do?  Stay with her?  Let’s say we stay together for twenty years but
hate each other?  Maybe it's just better to end things now while we can both
move on and find exactly what we're really looking for."