Recognition

My first appointment at the new dentist’s office took less time than I’d expected, thanks to my obsession with brushing and flossing. I had just enough time to stop and pick up milk and bread before I had to start my first online algebra tutoring session. I used to work at a private academy, but with the pandemic still raging we were stuck remote-teaching for probably the rest of the year. I hopped out of my car, tugged on my mask and hurried inside the market.
A lot of people must have had the same idea, as I had to weave my way through a labyrinth of shoppers to get what I needed. Since a long line also jammed the ten-items-or-less register I went to the self-check-out. Unfortunately the bread had a wrinkled bar code and nothing I did made it register.
“Need some help, ma’am?” a deep voice asked.
I turned my head as a very large guy joined me at the counter. From his uniform I guessed he was a bagger, and his size made me very nervous. When I looked up at his masked, slightly sunburned face I could see that he was just a teenager, which made me relax. His dark blue eyes had blond-tipped brown lashes that matched his very short, trendy haircut, and suggested he was a good-looking kid, too. I didn’t recognize him, of course. I never shopped at this particular market; I always went to the one closer to my place.
“Yes, please.” Only a moment later when he took the bread out of my hands, his fingers brushed mine, and then I did know him.
I knew everything about him. I also knew that he knew I did.
He stared back at me for a minute, and then entered something on the keypad. The price of the bread finally showed on the check-out screen. “There you go.”
I swiped my credit card and put in my pin. “Thank you, James.”
“My pleasure, Kenna.” He bagged the bread and the milk for me, but held onto my purchases. “I’ll carry this out for you.”
We walked out of the market not looking at each other, and when we got to my car I took out my keys. They fell out of my shaking hand at his feet, but I didn’t try to pick them up.
James reached out and gently took off my mask before removing his own. He’d gone a little pale under his sunburn. “Are you all right?”
“Nope.” I wasn’t sure my legs were going to keep holding me up, so I leaned back against the car. “I need a minute.”
“Me, too.” He picked up my keys and unlocked my door but didn’t open it. Instead he braced a hand against the car and rubbed the back of his neck. “Has this ever happened to you?” When I shook my head he looked relieved. “I thought I was the only one.”
“Me, too.” I didn’t have to say anything more. “See you.”
James watched me as I pulled out of the parking lot, just as I watched him for as long as I could in my rearview. Then I drove home, put the milk in the fridge, booted up my computer and then splashed my face with cold water until I felt reasonably sure I wouldn’t have a nervous breakdown while remote-teaching my kids.
A few hours later I finished for the evening, and made myself a sandwich I didn’t want. I also made myself eat it, because he could have changed his mind and I’d drive myself crazy thinking about that. I took a shower, changed into my pajamas and sat by my front window until I saw the motorcycle come up my driveway.
James hadn’t changed his mind.
I didn’t run, but I did walk pretty fast. He parked the bike, took off his helmet and got to me before I reached him. He had huge, powerful hands, but he took hold of mine very gently. He knew big, strong men scared me, and why they did. He knew everything about me.
“I should have asked,” he said.
“You didn’t have to.” I hugged him, and he rubbed those gentle hands over my back. “Come inside.”
He walked into my house holding my hand, and took me into the kitchen, where he put on the kettle and took out my peach tea bags, a mug and the honey I liked. “I freaked out a little after you left.”
“I did that when I got home.” I started making a sandwich for him. “Why didn’t you eat anything during your dinner break?”
“Meeting the girl of my dreams shook me up.” He glanced at me. “You’re still a girl.”
“Maybe ten years ago I was.” I put his PB&J on a plate and brought it over to the kitchen table before I realized something. “Jesus. Ten years ago you were in first grade. I’m a teacher. This is really bad.”
“You know I’ll be eighteen in three months.” He poured hot water into the mug before bringing it to the table. “I want to do it again, if you’re okay with that.”
Finally we sat down and faced each other as we held hands. We didn’t have to say a word, thanks to our telepathic abilities. Although I could read the minds of ordinary people whenever I touched them, with James I’d experienced a full-blown absorption, not only of his thoughts but his lifetime of memories as well.
I knew he had rebuilt his motorcycle engine, was planning to go to college for mechanical engineering, and had gotten sunburned while working in the yard with his dad. I knew the girl he’d had a crush on in first grade. I even knew what he had felt the moment he’d been born, fully aware of the pain his mother had suffered during his delivery.
James had tapped into my memories just as well. He knew I was a math whiz, that I liked growing my own veggies and as a kid I’d had a tough time with my ability. He knew I was scared of big men because I’d been mugged by two of them in college. He also knew how lonely I was, because like him I didn’t date. Being able to read minds wasn’t something either of us could turn off, so it ruined a lot of things.
All the things we might have said to other people didn’t have to be said. We simply had to touch. But after he ate his sandwich and I drank my tea, we still said them.
“I don’t care that you’re ten years older than me,” James said. “You don’t have to be alone anymore, and neither do I. We’ll never have to hide what we are from each other. Plus you’re so pretty, and you think I’m handsome. It’s perfect.”
I still wasn’t entirely convinced. “Your parents won’t like it. You need to go to college. You might find someone younger there who has a nice mind.”
“You know the odds of that are slim to none. You can come to college with me and teach there. The parents believe I haven't dated because I avoid being touched, and both things worry them, so they'll be relieved.” He rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. “We’ll never have to lie each other, Kenna. We’ll always know what we want.”
“Each other.” As he grinned I held up a finger. “That can wait for three months. You don’t want me to go to jail, right?”
James laughed. “Fine. But you’re shopping at my market from now on.”

Copyright 2021 by Rayen. All rights reserved.

Image Credit: Tú Anh from Pixabay