Ghost Story
Chapter 4
Kari spent the whole next day debating whether she should call Don and cancel their date. The second to last thing she felt like doing was going out. The last thing she felt like doing was going out on a date with her boss. This was way worse than any other date because she was so terrified that if it didn't go well, her job could be compromised. How could she have thought she was ready for this? And why did she agree to date her boss of all people? Joanie was right. She should've started off slowly on a double date with the cute roommate.
Deciding that it was too late to politely back out, Kari took her time getting ready before pulling on Joanie's pink dress and fastening her silver bracelet onto her wrist. Taking deep breaths, she repeated to herself that she could do this. She could be social, and polite, and charming. And hopefully not lose her job. She would not mention windows in the park and talking cats.
At 7:55 her doorbell rang. Through her peephole she saw Don standing in front of the door in a dark grey suit holding a bright pink bouquet of flowers. She took one last deep breath, forced a smile on her face, and opened the door to greet him.
Despite Kari's lack of enthusiasm, Don was a perfect gentleman the entire time. He opened doors for her, he engaged in polite yet interesting small talk, he showed her the utmost respect, and he never seemed to be able to stop smiling at her. For another girl, the date would have been flawless. He took her to Tony's Kitchen, a popular new Italian restaurant in town. Kari recognized the name from Joanie, who had unsuccessfully been trying to get a reservation there since it opened two months ago.
When they stepped inside Kari could understand both why Joanie was so excited to dine here and why she had so far failed. The line of people waiting to put their name on the list went out the door and down the sidewalk. Don, however, went straight through the heavy wooden doors to where the host was waiting expectantly for them. He led them to a private table near a large window in the front of the restaurant, which was clearly the best seat in the house.
The host pulled out Kari's chair for her and laid a thick black napkin across her lap. Kari looked down, impressed that even the napkins were fancy with the restaurant's initials embroidered in shiny gold thread.
And then her heart skipped a beat.
The napkins were embroidered with the restaurant's initials.
Tony's Kitchen.
T.K.
And there it was. His name. His face. She said it out loud, loving the feel of it on her lips. Don was staring at her, but she didn't care. She saw only T.K.'s face. He was eight years old, wearing a green helmet and sweater vest. He was a teenager wearing a goofy white bucket hat and a happy smile on his face. He was bare-chested and sleeping peacefully in the dark beside her.
The tears brimming in her eyes brought her back to the reality of her date with Don, who was staring at her, repeatedly asking her what was the matter. She looked up at him, but her eyes slid past him, out the window of the restaurant to where a blond head was walking swiftly down the sidewalk past the restaurant.
"I'm sorry, Don," she stammered. "But I have to go."
"Kari wait!" he said, trying to clutch her arm, but she was too fast. She escaped his grip and was already racing out the door and down the sidewalk. She pushed her way past the line of hungry people waiting to get in, the tears freely streaming down her face. She heard Don calling her name behind her as she scanned the sidewalks. Joanie's heels were definitely not meant for running, but she tried her best to race after him, killing her feet in the process.
"T.K.!" she cried, but it was no use. She couldn't see him anymore.
With a crunch, one of her high heels snapped and she was pitched forward onto the sidewalk, scraping her hands and knees when they hit the cement. Don caught up to her then and helped her to her feet.
"Kari, are you alright?"
Kari stifled her sobs and shook her head no. Nothing was right. He drove her home and Kari did her best to explain what was going on, luckily remembering to still leave out the talking cats and other oddities. His reaction was much kinder than Joanie's doubt. He even offered to help her search for him.
"I really appreciate the offer," she told him, "but I'm not sure that it would be the right thing to do." She had to consider that maybe Joanie could be right and she was imagining everything. Although she instinctively doubted this possibility, she couldn't ignore the fact that every time she saw him; he was running away from her.
Don nodded and spent the rest of the drive back to her apartment building in silence. When she told him goodbye he gave her a tight hug.
"I'm sorry tonight didn't go as I had planned, but I hope you find this man. Or that he finds you."
"I'm sorry too," Kari said, deeply embarrassed for ditching him in the restaurant.
"You deserve to finally find some peace. See you Monday?"
"See you Monday."
That night Kari dreamed, and for once, she remembered them afterwards. His face hadn't left the forefront of her mind since she'd remembered his name so it was no surprise that she saw him in her dreams. With his sky blue eyes and golden blond hair there was no mistaking him. They were eight years old and they were scared. She wanted her brother to protect her from the monster with the clown's face but T.K.'s voice told her they were going to be okay so she forced herself to be brave like him. Then they were falling through the air and she clung to his hand but no matter how strong of a grip she had on him he kept slipping away.
Then she was twelve years old on the first day of school and her teacher was introducing a new student to the class. It was him. She couldn't hide the smile that lit up her face as he sat down next to her, just like old times. Then they were flying through the air again. She was in the arms of a beautiful angel that she knew somehow both was and wasn't Gatomon and T.K. smiled at her when she confessed that she cared about him.
Then they were fifteen, having a picnic in a flowery meadow. Gatomon was there and a small, winged, bat-like creature. T.K. leaned over and kissed her. Their first kiss. Then they were eighteen and her mother was opening the door to reveal T.K. standing there in a tuxedo, corsage in hand to pick Kari up for their high school prom. Then she was laughing, throwing her arms around his neck as he scooped her up to carry her across the threshold of their first apartment together. Then they were smiling sleepily at each other, naked and tangled in each other's arms.
Then they were driving down a beautiful tree-lined road in mid-summer. From the passenger seat she gazed at him contentedly. From behind the wheel he sensed her staring and turned his head to meet her eyes and smile at her. There was a jolt and a crash and lots of spinning. Then with one last dream shift she saw his face as she had last really seen it, grief stricken with tear-filled. She watched his lips mouth "I love you," and she fell sobbing, into a deep dreamless, restless sleep.
Kari sensed his presence in her room before she even opened her eyes. Even though she could feel the warmth of his body in the bed beside her, she was still slightly surprised to actually and physically see him there.
"Am I still dreaming?" she asked him, looking around to see the same bedroom in the same apartment that she had lived in for the past year. She reached her hand up to touch his face, feeling his warm skin. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips and just then his figure flickered similarly to her encounter with Gatomon when she passed through the portal in the park.
"No. At least, I don't think so," he told her.
She couldn't hold back her tears any longer and let them fall freely onto his shoulder.
"Kari, don't cry."
"I had such horrible dreams, T.K. I don't understand what's happening."
"I don't know how this is happening either, but I don't want to waste it."
"What do you mean? How is what happening?"
"Being together." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I don't know how to explain it…Do you remember when you went to the Dark Ocean?"
Kari smiled slightly, "Yes, that was the day you first told me you cared about me."
He smiled and brushed his lips against hers. "Well, I think this is sort of like that. Remember when Izzy came up with the theory that there probably wasn't just the real world and the digital world, but lots of parallel words lying next to each other. We're in different places now."
"I don't understand, T.K. Please, don't leave me again."
He flickered again.
"It's a glitch somewhere, Kari. I can't control it."
"No," she cried as his figured faded in and out again. He stood up from the bed and she reached out for him.
"I'm sorry, Kari," he said. "I love you."
And then he was gone again, leaving Kari sobbing and alone on the bed.
