Two Sides of the Coin

Rating: Teen/Mature

Part Eleven

"You want, wha – OUCH!" Liz cried, her outburst interrupted by the fact that Zan had just stepped on her foot – hard.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zan said. His voice was soft and sweet but his eyes clearly reflected the message 'shut up and play along.' Liz nodded almost imperceptibly to indicate that she would go along with whatever he was saying, but her eyes reflected a message of their own; try anything and I'll use my powers to make you a eunuch.

"Yes, a room with a king sized bed," said Zan. "I called with a reservation a week ago. The name is Evans."

The desk clerk typed punched some keys on the computer. A worried expression crossed his face and he began typing rapidly again.

"Mr. Evans, I'm sorry, I have no record of your reservation," he said. "Do you have your confirmation number?"

"Of course," Zan said, smiling. He knew that by acting friendly and unconcerned, he'd have much more success. "It's right here." He reached into his pocket, and removed a slip of paper. Before he passed it to the clerk, he passed his hand over the paper so that it resembled the other confirmation slips on the front desk.

The clerk took it, glanced at it and typed some numbers into the computer.

"Mr. Evans, I don't know what happened. I can't find any record of your reservation anywhere. Let me get my manager."

He disappeared from view and returned several seconds later with another person in tow.

"Good evening, Mr. Evans. I'm Mrs. Walker. Boyd tells me that your reservation seems to be lost. Of course, we're more than willing to honor the reservation, but we do have one difficulty. We don't have any rooms with a king sized bed available. But what I'd like to do, to compensate you for your troubles is upgrade you to a suite, at no additional charge. Would that be adequate?"

"Mrs. Walker, that would be wonderful," said Zan. "And I appreciate you're doing that for us. Isn't that nice, Liz?"

"Yes, it is, thank you very much," Liz said, trying to not show her relief.

"I'll have someone bring your bags to your room," said the manager.

"Oh, there's no need," said Liz, deciding to get in on the act. "The airline lost our luggage. I'm sure it's in Botswana by now. All we have are our carry-on bags."

"Oh, dear," said the compassionate manager. "Well then, at least allow me to provide you with some toiletries and robes from our gift shop, courtesy of the hotel of course. Here are your room keys and enjoy your stay at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel."

Zan smiled and held out his hand and took the room keys.

"You're in 735, Mr. Evans," the clerk said helpfully.

"Thank you," Zan said, nodding his head slightly. "All set, Liz?"

Liz simply smiled, amazed at what Zan had just achieved. They'd gone from having no place to sleep to a suite in a luxury hotel in the blink of an eye. She shook her head, a bemused expression playing upon her face as they rode the elevator to the seventh floor. Zan was a continual surprise, and she didn't know how to deal with him.

The doors slid open and Zan and Liz stepped out into the opulent lobby of the luxury hotel. Liz tried to stifle a yawn as she followed Zan down what seemed like miles of corridor. The past few days were catching up with her, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week.

Zan slid the key card into the lock, pushed the door open and stepped aside so that Liz could go in first. She barely glanced at her surroundings and instead, kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the couch.

"Wake me next year," she said.

"I'll take that to mean I get first choice of rooms?" asked Zan.

"Whatever," Liz mumbled, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to stay awake long enough to answer Zan. But the stress of the past few days was too much, and her body succumbed to its desire to sleep.

Zan watched her for a few minutes, allowing himself the luxury of drinking in her beauty unobserved. She wasn't classically beautiful; it was more of a wholesome girl next-door look. Not that it mattered; he'd had little if any beauty in his life, at least until he met Liz. She was the most beautiful thing in his life.

Zan dropped the bags on the floor and walked to the nearest door and opened it, revealing a room with a queen-sized bed. He pulled down the covers and walked back to the living room. He gathered Liz up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom, reveling in the nearness of her body. He laid her gently on the bed, and pulled the covers up over her body, and smoothed her hair away from her face.

He sat on the edge of the bed, giving himself permission to watch her sleep a bit longer. Liz smiled in her sleep, she shifted slightly, and her hand brushed against his. His breath caught as she reached out in her sleep and squeezed it tightly.

He used his free had to adjust the pillows behind his back, and he swung his legs up on the bed. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the pillows. He wasn't as tired as Liz had obviously been, but he was tired.

His eyes closed slowly. His breathing evened out and he drifted off to sleep, taking comfort in knowing that Liz was next to him.

The moon cast a ghostly glow on the dirt road. Liz walked slowly down the road, not afraid, but cautious. She didn't know what was up ahead, but she couldn't go back. Something was pulling her forward.

A shadowy figure stepped out into the road and beckoned to her. She moved towards it. As she drew closer, she was able to make out his features.

"Max," she whispered. "Is it you?"

"Liz," Max said, smiling down at her.

"Oh, Max, I've missed you," Liz said. "I hate it without you here. I wish we could be together."

"We are together, Liz. You know it, even if you won't accept it. I'm always with you," the Max of her dreams said.

"No, when you died, I died," Liz said.

"That isn't true," another voice said.

Liz turned in the direction of the voice and watched as another figure emerged from the darkness.

"Zan?" she asked

"I'm Zan, but I'm Max," he said.

"And I'm Max, but I'm Zan," Max said. "We're the same but different."

"Different but the same," said Zan.

Liz watched in confusion as the two figures merged into one and faded into the darkness.

Liz's eyes flew open and she sat up in the bed her heart pounding. The remnants f the dream clung to her and she struggled to recall them all. There was a message there, if only she could figure it out.

As she became more awake, she became aware of the figure lying next to her. She pulled back a little, uncertain of what to do. Lying next to Zan felt natural, but on another level, it felt so wrong, almost as if she were cheating on Max.

Her eyes began to close again as the need to sleep grew stronger. She struggled against it, trying to make sense of everything that was happening to her.

I'll think about it later, she thought, as she fell back to sleep.