The Covenant - Chapter Fifteen

“This is such an amazing view! What do you think?  Have you ever seen anything so beautiful at sunset?” in awe asks Lauren eagerly looking towards Rick “This has to be one of the most exquisite landscapes that I have ever seen!”

Sitting on a rock and absorbing the panoramic scene before him, Ben Wick quotes “Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means the day and night are linked in a way that few things that are, there cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time.  How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?”

“What poet said that?” curiously asks Lauren feeling the longing in his comment and wondering who would have ever penned something so beautiful.

“Actually, it was Nicolas Sparks in The Notebook” remarks Ben Wick pleased that Lauren’s sudden interest in his favorite poetry quotes.

“I use quotes from the book and movie all the time for my twitter page!” exclaims Lauren feeling grateful to find another thing they share in common and an unexpected attraction to him “I’ll have to show you some of my favorite quotes that I’ve tweeted sometime!”

“I’d like to see them.  Hey, Annie that reminds me I haven’t heard your quote from Tennyson for today” smiling Ben Wick looks up at the sky letting the auburn and amber shadows of the mountain move his feelings to something deeper than just the moment before him.

“Let’s see.  I’ll have to think for a minute” stumbles Annie having been awaken from her own lost thoughts of a sweet moment she shared many years ago with Rick as they sat by the lake as the rays of the sunset reflected in the beveled  crystal water. Sincerely sharing their hearts, they made promises but with ultimate sadness she was regretfully unable to keep.

Not far from her, Rick concentrates on each feature of the mountains wanting to encase this moment in his memory forever.

“How about this one?” rhetorically asks Annie “Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.”

“I like that one, but there is another that I like more” offers Rick having spent the last afternoon looking up quotes to add to the conversation and to impress Annie while looking directly at her begins “Who loves not a false-imagining, an unreal character in us; but looking through all the rubbish of our imperfections, loves in us the divine ideal of our natures – not the man that we are, but the angel we may be.”

Interrupting the quiet moment as the others are attempting to absorb what he said, Lauren steps in front of Rick and enthusiastically asks “What exactly does that mean? Are you saying I’m an angel?”

“Not exactly” intercedes Ben Wick busting a twig in half “He’s saying that when you love someone, you love all of them - the good and the bad.  But even though some things that you might not like exist, you positively focus on all the wonderful things about them that they possess and love them anyway.”

“Oh …” after a moment of consideration Lauren counters “I’d rather believe it means that someone believes I’m their special angel!”

Not wanting to encourage her fantasies anymore than necessary, Annie giggles distracting herself by digging in her backpack for a bottle of water that the stranger gave to her earlier in the day.

“You as an angel might be something interesting to see …” states Ben Wick letting his imagination wander as he ponders that possibility.

“I need to think of a name.  It would have to be something ethereal like Athena or Deidra” suggests Lauren intensely walking back and forth in deep thought across the uneven rocks and then stopping in front of Rick “What about Ariana or Elyse?”

“The only ones I know by name are Michael or Gabriel, you probably need to ask someone else for a suggestion” states Rick clearly not sure how to respond to this rather random train of thought.

“What do you think Annie?” curiously asks Lauren searching for a possible nickname to use for the rest of the summer to remind Rick that she is his chosen angel once they return home.

“Uh, I don’t know.  How about Oriana or Lilian?” suggests Annie not sure what to offer to make her happy.

“How about Oracle or Lilipad?” jokes the stranger walking by heading towards the trail with a couple of his friends.

Lauren passes him a scornful look “I don’t think so!” while her other teammates quietly grin to themselves. Lauren wistfully adds “It needs to be something much more majestic and heavenly …”

“I’m just joking!” warmly the stranger waves goodbye to them and then looking over at Annie in particular “Hope you have a great evening! Maybe I’ll see you around later.”

“That would be nice, all of us are still here for another day.” returns Annie not sure what to say while Rick tightens his lips and glares at her with his hands resting on his hips.  Annie observes Rick and shrugs her shoulders while raising her eyebrows, slightly shaking her head unsure of how she should have responded instead that would have pleased Rick more.

“Come on Lilipad, the trail is just up this way where we can all get a better view of the sunset” disgruntled Rick keeps his steady pace of walking three steps in front of Lauren, slowly followed by Ben and Annie in tandem behind them.

As the group hikes at a comfortable pace up the trail, Lauren teasingly throws tiny pebbles at Rick trying to get his attention however he seems lost in his own thoughts. Noticing that the small stones are not making any difference, she runs up beside him and bumps into him. 

Roughly knocking a few rocks along the path with his boot, Rick laughs for a second but returns to his own cavern of memories from years ago …

“My heart belongs to you, Annie.  Why are you leaving me?” Rick pleads feeling as if his heart is being ripped from his soul “Were you playing some type of game with me?  Don’t you know how I feel about you?”

“I do know and I deeply love you too.  But it wouldn’t be right to be together now.  You want to be an officer.  I want to finish school.  It isn’t the right time for me to go to training, and you wouldn’t want to be tied down to a wife or family either” fumbles Annie trying to construct her thoughts and excuses when her heart only wants to accept the advisedly impossible and to be with him instead “You have a lot you want to do and although you won’t admit it, you wouldn’t have time for me and I would eventually resent that.”

“Nonsense, you could be with me if you wanted to.  Is there someone else?” jealously Rick asks aware that others are interested in her but whom she hasn’t seemed to notice “If there is someone else, you need to tell me”.

“No, you are the only one that I ever think of” confirms Annie as hot tears start to gingerly fall down her cheeks “You will be so much happier without me.”

“It’s your family isn’t it?  I’m not good enough for you!” angrily snaps Rick “That Lydia Russell has wickedly burrowed her own ideas into your head and filled you with these delusions!”

“It isn’t Lydia Russell’s idea” defends Annie but not too convincingly “I’ve made the decision.”

“When are you going to grow up, Annie?” rebukes Rick “You can’t act like a child forever.”

Annie’s eyes angrily flare at his painful words as she walks away unable to find words to express the hurt that she feels from his callous words and also from the reality that she will be losing him to an unknown fate.

Sadly Rick remembers watching her walk away from him confused and hurt by her unexpected change of heart vowing to never give himself so entirely to anyone else again.

The sound of another voice crashes into the air disrupting his memories, “Hey, did you hear me?” shouts Lauren having run up a second path reaching just above his waste level and then in a mocking tone “Catch me! I’m falling!”

Shocked out of his private thoughts, Rick raises his arms to catch the ‘falling’ Lauren.  She giggles as he by instinct protectively grasps each side of her shoulders as she leans towards him.

“Let’s try it again!” Lauren calls out as she runs up the path again to a slightly higher level.

“Really, that’s probably not a good idea” suggests Ben Wick squinting into the sun resting a hand above his eyes for shading “Be careful.”

“I’m fine.  I’m just testing his manly skills at catching a falling damsel in distress!” jokes Lauren oblivious that anything could possibly happen to hurt her shouting just before leaping “O Captain, my Captain!  Here I come!”

Lauren lands very close to Rick gently falling against his chest and pauses while smiling up at him.

“Really, Lauren that’s quite enough.  I’m not up to this” not wanting to hurt her feelings while Lauren runs up the hill yet again, Rick adds behind her, “Why don’t you walk next to me instead and we can talk about whatever you want to?”

“You’re so strong.  I know you can catch me.  See, I’m going to jump from here now and it will be so easy for you” exclaims Lauren leaping with all her might hoping to accidently fall into Rick making her fully aware of her presence and interest in him.

Carefully, Annie observes Lauren setting herself to jump but noticing that the rock on the edge of the pathway is loose and muddy.  She watches as Lauren’s foot slips and she clumsily fall with all her might awkwardly tilts and lands two feet away from Rick’s angry outstretched arms while he shouts “Don’t!”

She dangerously lands with a loud thud as the dirt shifts below her body scratching the ground with the weight of its new canopy.  Trickles of crimson blood flow in tiny rivers from the whipped tresses of her hair soaking the ground beneath her.

“Lauren!” Gasps Ben Wick running and kneeling next to her as Annie kneels and opens her backpack with her abundance of supplies for an emergency such as this.  Dumbfounded, Rick stands next to Lauren horrified of his inability to catch her.

“She needs help” frankly states Annie “Rick, call the lobby of the hotel and see if they can contact an ambulance”.

“I can’t get any bars on my phone!” panicked Rick replies bending down to touch Lauren’s unresponsive arm.

“Ben, run down to the security area at the last station that we passed and see if they can call an ambulance” firmly instructs Annie not wanting to move Lauren if the situation ends up to be more serious than expected.  “Rick, see if any of the other visitors have a phone that we can borrow or if there is a doctor somewhere in the area.  I’ll stay her with Lauren until you find someone and help arrives”.

Within minutes, a crew of caregivers arrive to help the unconscious Lauren onto a stretcher to make her way to the local hospital.

A few hours later, Ben Wick, Rick, and Annie congregate in the lobby of the hospital while doctors attend to Lauren in surgery. 

“I’ve talked with her parents and territorial headquarters.  This morning I am going to the embassy to explain Lauren’s condition and also for my permission to stay longer in the country” explains Rick feeling guilty that he was unable to save Lauren from getting hurt, “I’ll be flying back to the states with the team so I can meet with her parents before returning to Peru to take care of Lauren until she recovers.”

“I can stay here too if you would like” offers Annie “She’s practically a sister to me.”

“That is a very sweet offer” kindly states Rick knowing that Annie would be a very good nurse “Actually, I’ve already made that suggestion to her family but your sister has insisted that you return to take care of her children. S he’s already purchased a flight for Charles and her to come down in place of her parents who feel unable to travel at this time due to their health”.

“Oh, I see …” Annie’s voice trails off into silence acutely aware that time and distance will make it unlikely for any reconciliation to continue especially with another clearly available and willing for his affection.

Not reading Annie entirely Ben Wick explains “Don’t worry about Lauren.  I’m staying as well and will be able to keep my eye on her recovery.  I can write and let you know how she is progressing.  I’ve agreed to take a position as a youth worker at Harriet’s corps.”

“That’s great!’ responds Annie grateful for a few words of good news in the midst of disappointing events “You’ll be wonderful!  The kids are already attached to you and this is such a fantastic opportunity for you too!”

There is a buzz on Rick’s phone after reading it, he pauses before responding “Unfortunately Annie, I’ve just received a text from territorial headquarters and we will be leaving early in the morning.  The rest of the team will be taking their flight home back to the States at the end of the week.  Ben, you will be responsible for the team until then.”

Disappointed realizing that a week has now just been shorted to less than 24 hours, Annie’s heart sinks as she compliantly nods her head in understanding and acceptance of the situation and the loss that it entails.