Chapter Thirteen

In the weeks ahead, I took pictures and measurements of the packages and made the necessary phone calls to obtain what I sought, a way to peek inside the boxes. By the start of April, the tools had arrived and all I needed was the perfect opportunity.

“Are you able to deliver a package to Dr. Osborn this afternoon?” Father Xavier asked. His voice was laden with stress.

Dr. Osborne was an obstetrician with an office on the south side of Indianapolis. I had met him on a couple of occasions and he was generally more consumed by my chest than the reason for my visit.

I looked at the time, 4:15, and bit the corner of my lip. This was going to affect my plans for the evening, but I could make it work. “I’ll need to put gas in my car and dress to go out with my friends tonight, but I should be able to pick it up in forty-five minutes. Will that work for you?”

He was silent. “Yes, it will have to. Thanks.” The call ended abruptly and my plan was set in motion.

Another phone call later, and wearing a ridiculously short little black dress that hugged my every curve, I was out the door and filling the gas tank in record time. Tonight, my penchant for allowing the gas to run close to empty was working in my favor; it was buying time on another end, one that would  discover exactly what I was delivering.

The priest met me at my car and thrust the box into my hands, giving me my standard time window of seventy-five minutes and telling me not to be late. Friday night’s rush hour was going to complicate matters, but the clear weather was in my favor.

Red-lighted at the intersection of Third Street and US 46, the back passenger door opened and Jack slid into the back seat. I smiled at his business casual attire.

“Start unwrapping,” I ordered before he was completely inside.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it in time.” He tore the brown paper off the package, unconcerned about damaging the seal.

I peeled my eyes away from the mirror. My curiosity was getting the better of me, and I needed to concentrate on the road. I settled on the occasional glance backward as Jack gently pried open the cardboard. He pulled out what looked to be a pop bottle.

Was this a joke on his part? Had I left a soda in the back?

“This is what you’ve been taking to these offices?” His bewilderment matched my own.

I nodded, but it couldn't be right. The Church wasn’t delivering soda to these people. Doctors. Water Works. Factories. That was stupid, and Father Xavier struck me as intelligent, calculating even, but stupid, never. There was a link aside from their church membership. But what was it?

“It has to have a secret compartment,” I said after a few minutes in deep thought. “I’ve seen enough spy movies to know something isn’t right with this picture.”

Jack laughed at my assertion. “I guess it’s possible.” He gripped the bottle and made several tries at twisting it, but it wouldn’t budge. The only way to open it would be from the cap. I deflated as I realized that nothing was going to come from tonight’s excursions.

He placed the bottle back in the box and grabbed scissors to cut new wrapping paper. When it was wrapped, he flicked a lighter over a hunter green candle, waiting until a stoplight before he dipped my mail-order insignia into the melted wax. He pressed the new seal onto the seam and admired his handiwork.

“It’s not quite the same size, and the color is a little darker than the church's, but I don’t think you’ll arouse their suspicion today.”

“Thanks. I thought the color was pretty close, and I don’t think Dr. Osborn will notice it like some of the others would.” I paused as Jack set the package into the front seat.  “I should have taken a look at the bottle.” We were about fifteen minutes from the doctor’s office; there wouldn’t be enough time.

“It was a standard bottle, and I’m certain they are sending you on a goose chase. I can’t think of any other explanation,” he answered.

Perhaps Jack was correct. I didn’t have long to dwell on the disappointment of the trip before Jack exited the car a few blocks away from the doctor’s office. I didn’t want any chance of the doctor catching another passenger in my car. It wouldn’t bode well with the priest.

I pulled my arms out of my jacket, eager to let the dress distract the doctor while he inspected the box. I apologized for keeping him as soon as I entered the lobby.

“No problem, Lily. You made it just on time,” Dr. Osborn said. A grin crossed his face, but there was no warmth to it. Typically when I arrived, the office staff were finishing with their day’s work and sanitizing the chairs in the waiting area. Today, they were gone, but the smell of the room's chemicals tightened my lungs as a reminder of the workers' absence.

I pushed the box into his hands, not wanting to be alone with him any longer than necessary. His attention flitted to the box. He flipped it over in a mock inspection, but his mud-colored eyes didn’t stray from my dress.

“You look beautiful tonight. Going out?” He finally met my eyes.

“Yeah, I’m going out with some friends. Of course, I’m running late.” I looked at my watch for effect.

“I won’t keep you then. See you in church tomorrow.” He turned to walk away with the package and I darted out of the building, locking myself into the car. Window blinds gapped in the building, as I stepped on the gas, the tires squealing against the pavement while I sped away. I didn’t relax until Jack climbed in at the same stop where I’d left him.

“Let’s go to the Melting Pot,” Jack said after he asked how the drop fared. “It’s a jaunt, but it will be a special treat for you.”

I beamed at his suggestion. This would be our first public appearance. Granted, it was an hour and a half away from Bloomington, but it was a significant step in our relationships. Our dates had consisted of watching movies and making dinner at his place. And sex. There had been plenty of that, too.

I hadn’t liked being so private about our relationship, but I understood his reasoning. It was annoying to hear Holly prattling continuously about her professor and not be able to say, “Hey, that’s my guy you’re talking about.” It was also becoming increasingly difficult to hide his identity from her incessant probing. She wanted to meet the man who was occupying so much of my time.

My moment of reverie was broken by Jack’s hand sliding under my hem. His fingers worked up my thigh. “I’m tempted to make reservations at the Canterbury with the way you look right now. If I’d seen the dress before, we wouldn’t have left Bloomington.”

“Hey! I’m trying to drive; keep your hands to yourself.” I playfully swatted his hand away. I didn’t really want him to stop, but this was neither the time nor place. “Didn’t they teach you that in preschool?”

“I fell asleep during those lessons,” he answered with a chuckle. He left his hand in place, teasing me until we arrived to the restaurant.

The hostess led us through a maze of tables to a booth secluded in the back of the restaurant. Jack sat beside me and gestured to a vase of red roses with an attached card that decorated the table. Curious, I plucked the card from the flowers. It read, “I love you, Lily.”

“You bought me flowers?”

“Well, if I didn’t, some other guy’s in trouble.” His lips brushed my cheek with a gentle peck.

The fondue meal was exquisite, but I was full three bites into the main course.  It didn’t stop me from eating dessert. We dipped strawberries into white chocolate, and Jack occasionally traced a finger along the contours of my lips to wipe away any chocolate left behind.

He reached into a pocket in his jacket and removed a box. It was tiny, black, and velvety, and my heart skipped as I considered what was inside.

I was not ready for marriage. Though I had fantasized about being married to the professor a myriad of times in the past six months, in reality it wouldn’t work. Yet. I still had another year of school and wanted a career. And as much as I loved the professor, our age difference was a little bit of an issue.

“Take a deep breath,” he said with a look into my petrified eyes. “It isn’t exactly what you think it is.” He opened the box to reveal a ring, its heart-shaped jewel matching the color of his eyes. “It’s a blue diamond, but it isn’t an engagement ring. It’s more of a promise to you, and a reminder not to forget me this summer.” He slid it onto my right hand’s ring finger then said, “Perfect fit. It’s beautiful on you.”

“Thank you. I love it.” I had been so busy with school, work, and the Order that I’d forgotten that summer was just a few weeks away. I frowned at the prospect of returning to Monticello. I missed my family, but being without Jack would be pure torture. I tried to keep sadness from creeping onto my face.

“You should stay in Bloomington for the summer.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. I have my caseworking job up there. The pay isn’t good here, and I wouldn’t make enough to cover my expenses. Plus I want to see Rosie.”

“Are you looking for someone to sublease your apartment?”

Holly had made it clear when we first signed the lease that she was uninterested in transporting her belongings back to Virginia, only to be forced to do the same a couple of months later. She also didn’t want to risk other people doing damage to an apartment for which we were legally responsible.

“Why don’t you search for jobs down here and have Rosie move in with you? There’s probably a job near campus,” he said. “It seems foolish to pay for a place where you aren’t living.”

He had a point. I could reduce my portion of the rent by half, and possibly take classes this summer. “I have to find a job first, and my family has to agree to it, but I’ll see what I can do. Can’t stand the idea of being away from you all summer.”

*                                    *                                    *

I had no desire to go to church the next morning. The night had been a good kind of long, but the morning had come too soon. I caught myself yawning several times during assembly and my head bobbed in near sleep during the breakout session.

At the close of the sessions, Father Xavier pulled me aside. He wanted to know my plans for the summer. I told him that as of right now, I would be returning home and working as a caseworker for the migrant farmers.

“Ah. You’ve done such a great job acting as courier that I wanted to offer you a paid position with the church as my office assistant. My organization skills are lacking and with the huge uptick in membership, I could use the help.”

“What, precisely, would the job entail?”

“You would take phone calls, type and print out our bulletins, but most of the work for the first few weeks would revolve around filing. I’d want you to work forty hours a week, but we could be flexible with those hours and I would pay you $300 per week.”

The church would pay me to snoop through its documents. And Father Xavier was offering more than I’d make at my other job.

“Why are you offering this to me? There are at least a hundred other members that would be clamoring for a job with this much pay.”

“Lily, you’ve proven that you are trustworthy and you’ve recruited ten new members. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have work for me.”

I had conned Holly into attending a meeting a few weeks ago. She brought some friends and I was given the credit for their attendance. I was happy to take that credit, and it had earned me a darker robe.

“Can you give me a few days to think about this?” All in all, the offer sounded very attractive, especially since it would keep me here and I could delve further into the inner workings of the church. I knew before I reached my car that I’d probably take the job, but I had a few hurdles to sprint over first.

First, I called Rosie and asked for her thoughts on staying in the apartment with me over the summer. She let out a squeal at the prospect of not having to live under the iron curtain. She also gave me the task of assisting her in finding a job since she lived clear across the country. It was the first time in a couple of weeks that she’d actually sounded happy on the phone. She and Alex had stopped dating about a month ago and she’d been moping ever since.

After I hung up the phone with her, I called Jack and gave him the news of the job offer. He was ecstatic that the opportunity had fallen in my lap and that it looked like the perfect opportunity for me to stay in Bloomington. He offered to help find a job for Rosie, and had compiled a list of prospective employers by the time I saw him on Sunday evening. I emailed the list to Rosie and she lined up a job waiting tables.

Everything was coming together, but still there was one phone call that remained, and it was the one I had dreaded since Jack had made the suggestion. I decided that in person was probably better than over the phone.

“You want to do what?” my mom asked as she set her noodle-wrapped fork back onto her plate. She folded her arms to her chest then turned to my dad. “Did you know about this?”

Dad and I both answered at the same time. “I didn’t tell him first, if that’s what you’re wondering. Rosie and I are wanting our own place and since I’m already paying for one, I think we should just move in there.”

“You don’t want to come home? What about your job?” She let out a couple of sobs.

“Mom, calm down. People are looking at us,” I said. “It’s not that we don’t want to come home, but we’re not kids anymore.”

“She’s right, Anabel. They aren’t sixteen.” He diverted his attention to me. “You’ll be able to save enough money for school?”

“Yes, I’m starting a job the Monday after school lets out. It’s better pay and I won’t have to drive an hour to get there. With Holly paying half the rent and Rosie subsidizing my half, I think I’ll save more than I would at home. Plus I’m going to take classes.”

They couldn’t really argue with my logic, but my mom supplied a guilt trip complete with a flash flood of tears that lasted well after she realized that the tears didn’t matter. Her babies weren’t coming home this summer and wouldn’t be around to help with campaigning should Dad win the primary next week.

Dad wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but he didn’t discourage me either. In the end, we compromised by agreeing to get together bi-weekly.

The school year ended, Dad lost the primary, Rosie came to live with me, and the new job was beginning tomorrow. I tried to clear my head to sleep, but rest eluded me. I was too nervous about the job. And Rosie. I’d kept too many secrets from her over the past few months.