He pulled away from the car and extended his hand to me. “Yes, my sister had pretty much told me all that. Now, if you’ll allow me to hold your hand again, we’ll walk.”
“Why do you need my hand to walk?” I asked coyly.
He leaned toward my ear once more. “Because I’m as struck by you as you are by me.”
I hesitated, then responded, “You’re sure about that?”
“Aren’t you?” he asked, his hand still extended.
Again I hesitated, then placed my hand in his. “Where are we going?”
“No place in particular, just walking. But don’t worry, you’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me.”
I knew it was a flirtatious remark, but without really understanding why, I actually did feel safe with him and, holding the hand of a man I had met only minutes before, I walked down the street with him and listened as he talked and my world began to change. All that I could think was that he was beautiful, the moment was beautiful, and I felt beautiful too.
It was magical.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
I wanted to know more about Flynn but he seemed reluctant to talk much about himself. “Justine is the talker in our family,” he informed me.
“She didn’t tell me much about you except that I needed to meet you. She said she could guarantee that I’d like you.”
He flashed that smile. “And we both know that you do.”
I laughed at his cockiness, but I felt there was no need to hold back. Something about him made me want to be honest with him. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“Well, we’re off to a good start. By the way, Justine was right about another thing.”
“What’s that?”
“She said I’d like you too.”
I smiled. “So what about you? Tell me about yourself.”
“Me? Oh, I’m not very interesting. Just a soldier returning from the front in Europe, trying to get on with my life.” That was all he said about himself. He spoke of other things. He talked about the school we were approaching and proceeded to give an architectural history of it, and he did the same for several other buildings we passed. He seemed absorbed in all of them. When we reached a nearby church, he stopped. The church looked to be quite old. “Made of adobe,” Flynn said. “Built by Indians under supervision of Franciscan monks back around 1800.” He pointed to the belfry. “You see that bell up there? Took more than twenty men to raise it.”
I was impressed by what he had told me. “How’d you get to know so much about all these buildings?”
His eyes still on the belfry, Flynn said, “I love buildings, Cassie. They’re my passion.” He looked at me. “I work construction. One day I plan to be an architect. A builder.” Flynn then looked back to the church and continued giving more history about it, and as he spoke, he never let go of my hand. I listened intently to his every word. I was intrigued by him.
This man.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
When we returned to Justine’s apartment building, Flynn saw me as far as her front door but said he would not be coming in. “Justine will have too many questions.” Justine, however, opened the door before he could leave.
“Well, you two back, huh?” she said. “Where’d you go?”
Flynn ignored her. “I’ll see you again,” he said to me, and only now released my hand.
I wanted to ask when, but I didn’t want to seem too eager, so I said instead, “I’d like that.”
“Well, what I tell you, boy?” Justine asked. “Wasn’t I right?”
Flynn smiled that fantastic smile and, without another word, kissed his sister on the cheek and left.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
I received a letter from Moe. Moe wrote me at least once a week, and I always wrote him back, but not always before his next letter came. He told me he was back to work at Ford, but his best news was that Morris was now with him. Levis had brought Morris in time for him to start school. Moe said it felt great to have family living with him in Detroit. Morris was doing well and though he was homesick, he was adjusting to Detroit. Moe also told me Morris looked forward to the frequent trips they took to Toledo, just as he did. Moe added that Dorr Street was not the same without me. He asked when I was coming back. I wrote and told him I didn’t know. I told him about my job and about Los Angeles. I described the city to him. I told him I missed everybody from back home, and I did. One thing I didn’t tell him was that I had met a man who filled all my waking hours with dreams and my nights with longing.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
When Flynn said he would see me again, I thought he meant soon, within a few days, a week. But then the days and the weeks passed, and I did not see Flynn again. After several weeks, I attempted to put the fantasy about Flynn to rest. There was a young man at church name of John Means who was interested in me and had asked me out. I wasn’t interested in John Means, but I finally said I would go to a movie and dinner with him. I mentioned the date to Justine when she asked about my weekend plans, and the very next day she asked me to dinner at her place for that same Saturday evening. “I’m sorry, Justine, I can’t,” I said. “I told you I already have plans.”
Her face soured into a look of disappointment as she sat at her desk sorting papers. “This man you’re going out with, he anything special to you?”
I just looked at Justine, smiled, and continued with my work. I figured it was not Justine’s business whether the man I was seeing on Saturday night was special or not. Besides, I had no intention of getting any closer to Justine or her family. It was clear to me now that I had not affected Flynn as he had affected me.
“Well, that’s too bad you not being able to come to dinner,” Justine went on when I didn’t answer her question. “I was going to invite my brother too.” I didn’t say anything to that. “You know, I wish you and my brother could get together. You’d be good for him. Maybe you’d find he could be good for you too.”
I pushed my work aside and rose from my desk. “Well, we’ll never know that, will we?”
“I told you before he’s got a woman. Older woman. Almost old as me. I don’t like her. She’s not good for him, and besides that, she’s crazy.”
“He’s in love with her?” I asked without emotion.
“No. He just don’t know how to get rid of her. You’re the kind of girl he needs, not this vampire woman!”