Soulmates

Do soulmates exist? Can the love between two people be so strong that it literally defies the laws of Physics? Affect the lives of others?

She took a deep breath, checked her watch, “It’s 1:15”, right now you’d become in from the garage, dirty, greasy, and hungry.” This house is far too quiet without you.

“I miss you Roger”, she walked out on her front porch looking at the mailbox. Mr.& Mrs. Carrolton. Jill refused to change the name from Mr. and Mrs. Carrolton to just Jill Carrolton.

Her phone rang.

“Hello”

“Hi mom”

“Kathy darling, how are you!”

“I’m doing fine, how are holding up?”

“It’s tough but I’m going to make it through this.”

“How’s my grandson?”

“He’s doing alright, his grades are good but, he spends quite a bit of time on his laptop. Roger and I were getting worried that he was talking with some rat online. But Roger found some type of software that recorded his keystrokes, both parties, nothing was found, except that his conversation seemed to appear that he's talking to his grandpa.”

“Did you ask him, who was chatting with?”

“Yes, he told us that he was chatting with grandpa.”

“I think RJ should talk to a councelor, but Roger is against it, we’re family, we help each other out.”

“Right now, I am in agreement with Roger, RJ needs to work this out.”

“Mom! Before I forget, can you take RJ up Roger’s work, were having a family night, I want you to come too. Movie and dinner, RJ’s turn to pick the movie and restaurant. I have to cover a shift at the hospital.”

“What day?”

“Tuesday”

“I’ll be there, tell RJ we’ll have lunch. I get a date! Happy Days!”

“Great, no school that day, teacher conference”

“Again?”

“Yes, RJ getting hungry, see on Thursday, Love You, Mom.”

THURSDAY

With the sound level of a rock concert, Jill's morning alarm turned on. The noise nearly threw her off her bed. For crying out loud, the airports going to complain about the noise. She made her traditional cup of coffee and got ready for her big date.

Before she would pick up her grandson, she went to visit Roger.

At the cemetery, she trimmed, cleaned up his gravestone. She began to have a soft cry, “Hey baby how are you doing?”

“I’m sorry I’m at a loss for words, all I know is that I miss you, RJ is doing good, he misses you, hell, everyone in the family misses you.” She knelt and started crying. After several minutes she took a deep breath to regain her composer. When she noticed a caretaker walking towards her.

“Are you going to be okay?’

“Yes, I’m sorry, it’s that my husband is…”

“The caretaker motioned, I understand, no need to explain.”

“May I share something with you?”

“Like what????”

“It’s nothing bad or disrespectful.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I can see that you very much in love with Roger, remember two shall become one.”

“I’m not too sure that I understand it, but it will give me something to think about.”

“RJ is going to be fine, don’t worry.”

That statement caught her off guard.

“She said good-bye to her husband.” On her way back to her car, she grew concerned about the caretaker’s statement. “RJ is going to be fine.” As she drove out, she stopped by the main office.

She went to the receptionist asked to speak with a manager.

“Hi, I’m Gerald Hernandez, operations manager, how can I help you.”

“Yes, I met one of your caretakers on the grounds, he was a genuinely nice man. He told me something that really sent chills down my spine.”

“What did he say?”

“RJ, that’s my grandson, is going to be fine, don’t worry.”

“Did you get his name?”

“Sorry, I didn’t”

The receptionist mentioned, “Mr. Hernández the ground keepers aren’t supposed to be here till next Wednesday.”

“Hmm, call the police, see if we can get a unit to check the grounds out.”

“Ahh, Mrs.…”

“Mrs. Carrolton, Jill Carrolton.”

“I’ll take care of it, can’t have strangers on the grounds.”

“Thank you, have good rest of your day”

“You too.”

As Jill walked back to her car, she still could not the caretaker ‘s words out of her mind.”

She put the caretaker on the back burner, checked her watch, time to get RJ from school.

SCHOOL’S OUT

Jill drove into the school parking lot, laughed to herself remembering the days when dropped Kathy off on these very same grounds. She waited for the final bell.

At exactly 2:30 P.M. the bell rang, she looked at the kids coming out of class. She noticed RJ in the crowd by his favorite NASCAR hat.

“RJ!!!, RJ! It is me, grandma! RJ!”

He heard and recognized her voice, scanning the parking lot looked right at her, and kept searching.

“RJ! Right here, honey!”

He finally recognized her and ran towards her happy to see her.

“Watch for cars!”

He flew into her arms giving her a kiss, they hugged.

“How would you like to go on a lunch date with me?”

“YEAH!! Where are we going?”

“How about the Ricco’s Italian Restaurant, they have an all-you-can-eat, pizza, spaghetti, and everything else.”

“Deal”

“Okay, get in and buckle up.”

As they entered the main highway, RJ spoke up.

“Grandma, can I talk to you about grandpa?”

“Sure, what would you like to know, go ahead and ask.”

“How long were you and grandpa together?

“54 years”

“Wow that’s more than half a century, I guess you really loved him.”

“Yes, I do love him, RJ just because someone you love has passed away your love for that person doesn’t go away.”

“Do you talk to him, like I do?”

“I talk to him; how do you talk to him?”

“On my computer, we talk about three or four times a week he tells me how much he loves you and some of the things the two you shared as wife and husband.”

Puzzled she asked, “What are some of the things he told you?”

“Like the time the both of you went camping for the first time and at night you thought he was kissing you on your ear and turned out to be a lizard, you woke him up with your screaming, the tent came down and a ranger thought it was a wrestling match you know WWF.”

Jill remembered that night, she started laughing, “That was my first-time camping.” She smiled.

“We're almost here, it’s about another block.”

RICCO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Inside the restaurant, they headed straight to the buffet. RJ showed no mercy on the food.

At the table, they kept talking about grandpa.

“When people are in love does love ever stop or does it go on forever?”

“It goes on forever; some say it takes you to a higher level.”

“Higher what?”

“When you get older, you’ll understand.”

“You believe me about grandpa, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, RJ you’ll find out, that there are a lot of things that happen in this universe that we may not understand.”

“One day, your grandpa and I will be together again, but don’t feel sad.”

“You mean that people can cruise around in the universe?”

“Be right back, going for another round.”

Over the next hour they talked, and RJ kept making return rounds for more food.”

RJ was ready to go, stuffed not hungry, feeling good.

“So, you think it’s okay for two people to roam the universe and show up on computers?”

“For a 13-year-old, your off to a great start in life, I love you, love is a powerful feeling, you may be right on traveling the universe.”

“You don’t think I’m weird?”

“No, I don’t hey if you’re chatting with your grandpa online, why not?”

With that, Jill started the car, engaged reverse, and off they went. They drove straight to Meting Engineering where his dad worked. Along the way, they hit a traffic jam, road construction equipment, cops, and a lot of signs redirecting traffic to a different route. They followed the signs which led them to a long winding road that would reconnect them back on their original route. It was a nice drive with more space between cars.

A water truck was parked at a fast-food burger stand where the driver had lunch. He was unaware of the homeless people tampering with the release valve trying to get at the water. He finished eating, got back in his truck with a stream of water starting to gush out on the road. After a mile, he felt the load shift and turned the steering wheel to check things out. He saw the water gushing out quickly pulled over to the side of the road. A group of homeless people was in pursuit.

Jill saw the commotion. Warned RJ, “is your seat on tight!”

“Yeah, grandma.”

“Hold on.”

Homeless were in the street dodging and yelling at passing cars. One run towards the car, Jill swerved to miss him, clipped the water truck, and went down the embankment. The car came to a stop, hitting an abandoned shed left by the city, now used by the homeless. The truck driver went running towards the car to help, homeless attacked him.

Inside the shed, there was a propane tank used to cook food, the wrong gas valve that was used broke off spraying a cloud of propane into the air. The airbag deployed but Jill found herself pinned by the steering wheel. A drug addicted homeless man came to the window, checking out the situation.

“Where’s your wallet, if you want any help it’s going to cost you, where’s your wallet lady!”

“I’m pinned by the steering wheel; I can’t get to it. hurts to be you, girlie.” He pulled out a book of matches lit it tossed it in the direction of the gas cloud.

That is when someone tackled him causing him to run away. Coming closer she heard the truck driver yelling towards her. Her first thought was to get RJ out of the car, she unhooked the belt told him to run, she heard the truck driving calling RJ.

“Hey! Little guy come here I got you.” With all his energy he ran to the driver.

Jill looked towards her left, “ROGER???”

“Yes, my love it’s really me.”

Stunned, “Was that you that…”

“Of course, who else would it be?”

The fire started to grow Jill could fill the heat intensifying.

“Are you going to help get me out of the car?”

“Nope”

“WHAT????”

“Honey, you are pinned underneath, the fire department won’t be here in time, I’ve come to take you home with me.”

“You mean?”

“Yes, you and I together for eternity.”

“He’s going to be fine in the long run, this is going to be a changing moment in his life, for the better, do you trust me, still?”

“Of course, what do you want me to do?”

“Give me your hand and close your eyes?”

TIME

When the fire department arrived, they quickly put the fire out, police arrested the homeless man. Corner report showed Jill was killed on impact, even though RJ argued against it. RJ survived and learned to accept the loss of his grandma. But he never told anyone about the online chats with his grandparents and how they introduced him to stargazing.

On his 23rd birthday his grandparents, parents stood proud as RJ graduated from the U.S. Air Force pararescue school.