That’s
Just Jesse
By Aly
A young man
watched in horror as his life was suddenly ripped away from him. In a split
second, everything he lived for, breathed for and cherished was crushed beneath
the twisted metal of her ’69 Mustang.
He remembered how
her eyes lit up when he unveiled her beloved car after he had had it fixed up
with a shiny, candy apple red paint job and new leather interiors. It was her
birthday present a few years back and her statement that day made him feel like
he could fly.
On a rainy day in
June, he was meeting his love at their favorite restaurant for their 3 year
anniversary. He was going to propose to her over dinner. He was standing
outside in the pouring rain with an umbrella over his head, standing beside his
car. They were meeting there after she got off of work. The sparkling,
heart-shaped diamond ring was tucked safely in the depths of his suit pocket.
He watched as her
car slowed at the red light at the intersection in front of the restaurant. It
quickly turned green and she began crossing when a speeding truck hit her
passenger side, flipping both cars several times before there was total
silence. He leaned onto his car for support, unable to breath, speak or stand.
He was in total shock; his jaw was almost literally resting on the pavement
below him. Tears began mixing with the rain falling onto his cold skin after he
dropped his umbrella.
A woman screamed
for someone to call an ambulance as she ran over to the two deformed vehicles.
Snapping back to reality, Nick ran to her side, helping her to find any
survivors, praying Anna was still alive.
“I’m a nurse!” she
yelled, pushing him from Anna’s car. “Call an ambulance now!”
He obeyed,
solemnly. What else was he to do? He knew the risk of moving her. He pulled out
his cell phone and quickly dialed ‘911’. Before he could hang up with the
receptionist, sirens and lights were visible. He took a deep, shaky breath as
the paramedics took over for the woman.
************************************************
He kneeled down
and replaced a bouquet of wilting flowers with one made of silk to last a
lifetime. He played with the necklace around his neck, fiddling with the
diamond ring latched onto it. Silent tears slid down his cheeks as he drew in a
shaky breath. “I love you, Ann,” he whispered, wiping his cheeks of their
moisture.
He touched his
fingertips to the cold, marble slab, resting where his love’s head lay. It had
been a year since the accident, down to the day, and it was a terribly
beautiful day for all of the trauma it held last year.
Nick walked back
to his car – a 1969, candy apple red Mustang with beige leather interiors and a
soft convertible top. He had Anna’s car remade after the accident to cherish
the spirit left of her.
He drummed his
fingers on the black steering wheel in beat of a song he hadn’t heard in years.
He began humming the melody subconsciously then, stopped abruptly. That was the
first song he and Anna had danced to at his cousin’s wedding almost five years
back.
Nick could
remember every detail of that night. It was burned in his memory.
Anna was his
cousin, Rachel’s maid of honor. She wore a delicate blue dress, silver,
strapped shoes, and a small crown that sat atop her head, making her the most
beautiful princess there. He hated being stuck in a suit and tie, sitting
outside in the hot Florida sun, watching his younger cousin marry some guy he
had never met. Sure Rachel was family, but he rarely talked to her and rarely
visited. It was as if she was one of his old junior high buddies that he talked
to maybe once every two years.
At the reception,
he sat at a table, pushing food from one side of his plate to the other. He
didn’t know anyone there.
“Hi,” a voice
greeted, startling him.
He sat up
straighter and looked directly into her green eyes. They sparkled with so much
light that they transfixed him in that spot. He couldn’t speak or turn away.
“You wanna dance?”
she asked, holding her hand out to him. He nodded slightly, placing his hand in
hers and standing up.
They moved to the
dance floor and cautiously danced slowly to an old Elvis Presley ballad. It
seemed awkward between the two strangers, but neither wanted to mess up
anything in this perfect moment.
Anna quietly sang
along to the words of the song. Her voice was soft and velvety. When her breath
touched his sensitive skin on the side of his neck, he shivered and
subconsciously pulled her closer. Neither spoke to each other during the whole
song, afraid of ruining such a romantic moment.
Once it ended,
Anna raised her eyes to meet Nick’s. “I’m Anna Gray,” she smiled, introducing
herself to the stranger.
“Ni-nick Carter,”
he stuttered, intimidated by her beauty.
“Well Ni-nick,
wanna go somewhere to talk?” she asked mimicking his nervousness. He just
nodded in response as she led him off the dance floor and out of the beautiful,
antique dance hall.
They talked for
hours about likes, dislikes, their families, pets, anything they could come up
with at the time. They both wished this little world of theirs would never end,
but it had to. Anna had a business meeting two days later, 294 driving miles
from the wedding and Nick had a concert the next night halfway across the
country. They said their goodbye’s hours after leaving the wedding party and
went their own separate ways.
He remembered how
they found out they were staying in the same hotel and on the same floor to top
that off. Anna ended up staying in Nick’s room that night, talking all night
long. It was an immediate attraction between the two.
************************************************
He took a seat
next to Brian in the conference room of The Firm’s Executive Offices in
downtown Orlando. Brian glanced at him and offered a reassuring smiled. He
wasn’t looking forward to their next tour at all. Without Anna to call every
step of the way, touring seemed boring and pointless, but he knew he had to do
it for the fans.
A heavy hand
planted itself on Nick’s shoulder and he looked up at Kevin’s concerned face.
“I’m fine guys.
I’ll be fine,” he assured them, dismissing their worried looks. Truth was, he
was ok. More ok than he thought he’d be a few months ago. For some reason, he
couldn’t get upset for her sudden leaving. Sure he’d cry himself to sleep some
nights, but it’s not like he’d thought it would be at the funeral. It was
almost as if she was there with him every minute.
Subconsciously, he
traced little pictures on the table, drowning out whomever it was that was
speaking at the moment. He’d heard these “going on tour” speeches before. They
were all the same. It wasn’t important at the moment.
Nick looked up as
a piece of paper was slid in his direction, along with a pencil. He smiled
slightly at Brian and thanked him silently. Drawing was something he and Anna
both loved doing. He’d draw a caricature of her and she’d draw a profile of
him. They both loved the freedoms of drawing.
He began tracing
and retracing lines, unable to see the picture he was creating. Once done, he
looked down at it and laughed.
“Nick? A comment
on what’s so funny?” the manager of the day asked.
He looked up at
him with a confused look then looked back down and laughed. “Nothing.”
He had drawn a
picture of a bouquet of flowers, resting in a spherical vase. Anna always drew
flowers on things. When they were at restaurants, she’d outline them on the
napkins or table cloths.
She was
everywhere. Her spirit was still with him, he acknowledged at that point. His
constant humming of their songs, drawing pictures of flowers and beach
pictures, the faint scent of strawberries and champagne everywhere he went,
even the occasional glance at her face in the mirror was enough to convince him
she was still with him, waiting for him to join her again.
“Soon enough,
baby. Soon enough,” he whispered, causing a few odd stares from members of the
room. He just laughed in response and leaned back in his seat, making a mental
note to speak with Brian soon.
The
End
