TWO LIVES WITH YOU Chapter Three
I didn't saw Jesse for the rest of the week, instead I found myself thinking in my family and ghost Jesse – he had been so worried when he couldn't wake me up. Finally, when I was getting ready for church on Sunday, I decided to ask Jess what was going on back in my day.
"You're asleep, this whole week, whatever it takes for Jesse and You to get together it will only be a night in your time. When the other Suze wakes up, her life will be fine."
"What about me? and my memories?" I asked
"You will forget about the XXI century, and your family. All the lies we have been telling, that's what you will remember. You won't feel pain, or as if you're missing something. Don't worry about that, I'm taking care of everything."
"When will I forget?"
"When you get a moment of true happiness."
"You've been watching Buffy, haven't you?"
Jess shrugged. "You don't have any jewelry," she said ignoring my previous question, "Here, take this," she took off the cross she had around her neck, it was beautiful, ancient, and it materialized when it touched my hands.
"Thanks," I said doing the clasp.
"Now, look at you. You do look like a respectable young lady."
"Are you implying that I'm not?" I asked raising my eyebrow
"Well, Jesse-ghost has been your 'room mate' for an awful long time,"
"But he is 'far too an honorable young man to let anything happen between us', or so Father Dominic says" I muttered annoyed, remembering the day Father Dom had told me that.
"If you say so," Jess said amused with my expression. "Now, Father Benedict and I prepared a List of the people you will see in church today. Well, Father Ben wrote it for the most part I just added some comments."
I tucked the list in my bible and went to the church, I was late of course, and almost all the church was full. So I had to make a dork out of myself trying get to a seat. While doing it so I saw that Jesse and, what appeared to be his whole family, was already there. Jesse smiled when he saw me, and I caught two of his sisters talking to each other, low and fast, and then grin when they noticed I was watching them.
As Father Benedict when about the first, second and third lecture, plus the evangelium. I sat quietly and started to read. Jess little notes turned out to be a recount on the shameful and embarrassing little facts about the best of Carmel's society. One of my favorite parts was about who wore wigs. And I really had to bit my lip hard when I reached the part about Maria de Silva. Among other things – like bitch – it also read 'for the love of her life she can't spell. Also known as Miss. Bonet with one n'
When the mass was about to end, the lady seated next to me had to pinch me to make me realize that everyone else was standing and waiting for Father Benedict to give the final blessing and the cue to go home. I stood up as quickly as I could and muttered a "Damn!" that I hoped no one noticed … much.
Afterwards, everyone was filling out the church, and I walked slowly, reading the last of the list, when I heard a silky but very masculine voice behind me.
"I never thought that the Bible could be so… engrossing," Jesse said. Sneakiness wasn't a quality he had acquired as a ghost, he had had it with him since before dying.
"Jesus! One day you're going to cause someone a heart attack!" I said hitting him playfully in the stomach. All I can say is that his abs were as hard as they looked.
"Susannah, you wound me," he said faking hurt.
"It would serve you good,"}
"¡Hermano!" A little voice called, and running toward us was this little girl. Jesse scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders, the girl squealed in delight. Once she was safely grabbing Jesse's head she looked at me, "Hola."
"This is Mapi, my sister."
"Hi!" I said happy. I had been curious about his sisters for a while. "I'm Susannah."
"We know," the two girls that were talking to each other in the church said at the same time.
"Jesse hasn't shut up about you all week," the tallest one said.
"It's becoming annoying, really." The other one said.
"Teresa and Delia," Jesse introduce them, "Another two of my sisters,"
"Does that mean that there are more?" I asked even when I already knew the answer.
"Yes, Margarita and Juliana, they are with our parents talking to father Benedict," Mapi explained, she was quite the talker, blurting out the words so fast and mixing Spanish and English so often that Jesse ended up repeating much of what she said.
We were all laughing when I saw another one of my least favorite persons in the whole wide world: Maria De Silva.
"Hector," she said coolly looking at him, at Mapi perched up on his shoulders and then she fixed her eyes one me. "Making new little friends I see," for someone that was my age, Maria sounded rather bitter.
"Maria, hola ¿como has estado?" Teresa – Tess – said cheerfully, but I could tell she didn't liked Maria any more than I did. "Do you know Miss Simon?"
"No, and frankly I'm not interested." She said brushing pass me and almost making me lose my balance with all her voluminous hoop skirt. Jesse caught my arm and steadied me while shooting a very nasty look in Maria's direction – it was almost like the looks that Jesse-ghost used to shoot Paul.
"And father Dominic says my manners are bad," I said loud enough for her to hear me as she walked away.
"Who is father Dominic?" Mapi asked.
"Huh…" Think, think Suze, what was that world Father D. used, he was Jesse's…. "He is my confessor, back in New York."
"Oh, And do you miss New Yok?" she asked
"York." Jesse corrected her.
"That's what I said."
"From New York all I miss is my friend Gina," I said with nostalgia, "And her brothers when there is need to do heave lifting."
"Oh, Jesse is good for the heavy lifting," Tess said hitting one of Jesse's arms.
"Yes, real good!" Delia added, "If you need to rearrange furniture, Jesse is your man."
"Are you two offering Jesse again?" a young voice asked, it was another one of the De Silva girls. "He has been off the hook for two days and you two already want to get rid of him."
"Don't be such and aguafiestas (Spoil sport), Margarita." Mapi said scowling at her older sister.
"Hey, I thought you were on my side," Jesse said
Mapi just grinned as a cat that had just ate a bird. "But I'm on your side," she said as if she knew something and she wasn't telling.
I had to laugh, really. It was like watching a good sit come unfold in front of you.
"Glad that my misery amuses you, Susannah." Jesse said, but he was laughing too.
¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡
Back in the present day.
"I don't know what's happening," Jesse-ghost was saying, holding the hand of a very much asleep Susannah – who was sleeping like she didn't had a care in the world. "My memories are mixing, messing into a tangled web. I have memories of her, memories that I didn't had before. She is back in 1850, I know it."
"The world is shifting, Jesse." Father Dominic said looking very tired. "I don't know how is going to end once this abnormal long night ends. When the sun rises again, nothing will be the same…"
?!?!?!?!?!
End of Chapter Three.
Notes;
Great Suze and Jesse moment in the next chapter. Also another run with Maria.
Wait and see.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed and special thanks to the girls from Meg Cabot Book Club. Special mention to Querida and IceWolf for guilt trip me into writing this.
Gotta go, my back is killing me!
Love,
Alex (a.k.a. Clavel a.k.a AurynFaith and whatnot!)
PS. Sorry about the bad grammar and stuff.