Coming Attractions (2 page)

“Yeah, hopefully. Can you cover the front desk for me tomorrow at 2:30?”

“Sure.” Nicole was sitting perfectly still, trying to blink away the deer-in-the-headlights look that had overtaken her earlier.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Me? Yes, I’m good. I hope you feel better.”

Katie gave a weak nod and exited. Her room at the end of the hall felt miles away.

Even though it was open-dorm night, the steady lineup of closed doors seemed to indicate that the majority of the women in
Crown Hall were out that evening. Either that or they were holed up watching romantic movies with their roommates and telling
each other that next year Valentine’s Day would be different for them both. They would have somewhere to go and someone wonderful
to go there with.

Or many of them could still be fending off this flu bug.

Katie paused at The Kissing Wall across from her door. The wall had been decorated at the start of the school year with a
sweet variety of photos of innocent kisses. Along with the photos were verses and poems celebrating that ageless expression
that brings fanciful hope to the heart of every young woman — a kiss.

Katie unlocked her door and thought of how, for so many years, she had hoped and dreamed of having a relationship with a guy
who would bring her flowers and give her kisses on Valentine’s Day. Now she had exactly what she wished for. But it wasn’t
exactly what she thought it would be.

Things with Rick were fine. Better than fine. Things were good. They had been good for months. At Christmastime Rick and Katie
agreed to let their relationship bob along through this final semester of Katie’s senior year. Once she graduated, they both
would be in a better place to figure out the all-important question of “what’s next?” For now, they agreed they were content
with their status of “happily almost after.”

Katie flopped onto her unmade bed and let out a self-sympathizing moan. A pestering thought floated in her foggy brain.
What was Nicole so skittish about?

Pulling her cell phone from her sweatshirt’s pocket, she stayed flat on her back and called Nicole. “So what do you know that
I don’t know?”

“What do I know about what?” Nicole’s voice went up high at the end of her response.

Katie noted the inflection. “Why did you jump up when I came into your room?”

The other end of the phone went silent.

“Nicole, come on. You said, ‘Let me see.’ See what? What was I supposed to have?”

“Katie, I thought you and Rick had gone out to dinner tonight and — ”

“No, I didn’t see him at all today.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

“But it’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed.” Katie coughed.

“You sound awful.”

“Don’t change the subject, Nicole. You know something. I know you do.”

Over the past two months Nicole had spent time with Rick’s mom, working on designing the cafés’ interiors. As a result, Nicole
often knew more about what was going on with Rick than Katie did.

“Nicole, just tell me. Come on.”

“Oh, Katie, I feel terrible!”

“You feel terrible? I’m the one who’s sick here.”

“I can’t say anything. I really can’t. I’m sorry.”

A pause lingered between them before Katie’s eyes widened and she lifted her head. “Tell me it’s not a ring. Seriously, Nicole.
Tell me Rick did not go out and buy me a ring.” The cough started up again.

“Katie, I…”

“An engagement ring?” Katie weakly propped herself up on one arm. “Did he go and buy me an engagement ring? You have to tell
me, Nicole. Did he?”

Silence.

Katie flopped back on the bed. “He bought me a ring, didn’t he? I can’t believe it. Why would he do that?”

“Katie, it’s not… you just… oh, this is frustrating!”

“Tell me about it.”

“Just wait until you see Rick. Everything will make sense then.”

“Yeah, I could do that. Or you could tell me everything you know right now and spare me the suspense. You know how I hate
surprises. Just tell me, Nicole. We can keep it as our little secret.”

Even before Nicole answered, Katie knew her friend would never agree to such an alliance. Nicole was too pure of heart and
too well trained in the ways of integrity. It bugged Katie, though, to realize that Nicole did have an alliance going in all
this. Nicole shared a secret with Rick and his mom, which was something Katie couldn’t say she had ever experienced.

“Truly, Katie, you’ll be glad I didn’t say anything. Just wait. Everything will make sense when you see Rick.”

If Katie hadn’t been feeling so awful, she would have pressed the conversation until she could squeeze at least a few clues
out of Nicole. Instead, she gave up and hung up. Staring at the ceiling, she coughed again.

Rick Doyle, you were
not
planning to propose to me on Valentine’s Day. I mean, seriously, Rick. Valentine’s Day? What happened to us waiting until
I graduate before we decide what’s next? And what if I don’t like the ring you picked out? Did you ever think of that? You
probably bought some huge diamond, and I don’t want —

Her cell phone rang. She thought the ring tone was the one she assigned to Nicole, so she answered with, “Changed your mind,
did you? Talk quick and make it good because I’m dying here.”

“Did you get it?” a male voice asked.

She held out the phone and saw by the ID that it was Rick’s roommate, Eli. Katie had forgotten she changed his ring tone as
well. She’d have to change it again. It was too close to Nicole’s.

“Did you get it?” Eli repeated.

“Get what?” she replied flippantly. “The ring? Are you in on this too? Nicole wouldn’t give me any details, so go ahead. Spill
your guts. I promise I’ll act surprised.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m calling to see if you got the email from my dad with the Kenya update.”

One of the things Katie appreciated about Eli was that little fazed him. His brushing right over her ring comments was typical
of his steadfast temperament. If he did know details, he certainly wouldn’t squeak a peep to Katie or anyone else if Rick
had told him not to.

Over the past few months, Katie and Eli had been working on a fund-raiser for clean water in Africa. Eli’s dad headed up the
headquarters in Nairobi and kept Katie in the loop on how the funds were being distributed. During the correspondence among
the three of them, Katie had come to appreciate Eli’s straightforward approach. He was a lot like Rick in that respect. Except
with Eli Katie didn’t sense the same sort of aggressiveness that was stitched into the fiber of Rick’s temperament.

“I haven’t checked my email since this morning. I’m sick, Eli. I have the flu.”

“What have you taken for it?”

“Nothing. Well, tea and extra vitamin C for a month, but I guess that wasn’t enough.”

“Is your throat sore?”

“Yeah.”

“Fever?”

“Yes, Dr. Eli. I have all the usual symptoms. I need to get some sleep. Do I have to answer the email tonight, or can it wait
until tomorrow?”

“You don’t need to respond. It was good news. My dad was able to make the final arrangements for the wells in Sudan. We’re
not going to need to raise the extra funds. The drilling can begin next week.”

“That is good news.”

“I’ll let you get some sleep.”

“Yeah, sleep is good. My head feels like a bowling ball.”

“Take care of yourself, Katie.”

“I will.” She closed her phone and closed her eyes.

Good ol’ Eli. Nine months ago, when she first saw him at her best friend’s wedding reception, Katie thought he was unusual
and dubbed him “Goatee Guy.” His intense stare unnerved her. Then Eli moved into Rick’s apartment, and now she considered
him one of her closest friends. She was going to miss him when he moved back to Kenya after graduation.

Eli grew up in Africa, where his parents were missionaries. In some ways Katie guessed he had never quite moved all of his
heart to California when he came to Rancho Corona to finish up college. Part of him seemed always to be somewhere else. Off
on safari, perhaps.

Katie pressed her open hand to her throat and tried to feel if it was swollen. She rolled onto her side in an effort to find
a more comfortable position. Changing into pajamas would help with the comfort part, but she didn’t want to get up.

I hate being sick.

Her phone rang again. This time it was Rick. In a soothing voice, he tried to coax her out to the parking lot to meet him
so they could get something to eat. “I’ll be on campus in five minutes, Katie. We’ll go someplace that serves soup. Chicken
soup. How would that be?”

“Rick, seriously, I… am… sick. Really.”

“Then I’ll come in to see you. It’s open dorm tonight, right?”

“Rick, you’ll be exposing yourself to someone who is a walking flu hive, buzzing with live, viral flu bees.”

He laughed. “You can’t be too sick if you’re still funny.”

“I’m not funny, Rick. I’m coughing, and I’m sneezing and… well, I’m not sneezing yet, but I feel like sneezing.”

“Katie, honey…”

“Honey?”

Rick had never called her “honey” before. At least not that she could remember. Was that his attempt to play off her comment
on the flu hive?

He ignored her challenge on the term of endearment and pressed forward. “Listen, I don’t care if you’re sick. I want to see
you anyway. I have something I want to give you, and I’m determined to give it to you tonight.”

“Well, I have something I could give you, and I’m determined
not
to give it to you tonight. It’s called two weeks out of commission, Rick. This is the worst possible time for you to — ”

She almost said “to propose,” but he interrupted. His voice was loud and firm. “Katie, I’m coming to see you. I’ll be there
in four minutes. Five at the most. Why don’t you gargle or take some cough syrup or something? I’m coming to your room, so
open a window and let all the bee germs out. Or whatever you called them. Viral bees. Whatever. I’m almost there now.”

He hung up. Katie stared at her cell phone.

Open a window? Gargle? Did he really just say those things to me?

She couldn’t move. Her fifty-pound head felt as if it had sunk permanently into her Little Mermaid pillowcase.

Rick, what are you doing? If you walk in here and ask me to marry you, you’ll ruin everything.

K
atie had maneuvered through a variety of life challenges, but this dilemma had her baffled. If Rick stepped into her dorm
room, got down on one knee, and held out a jeweler’s box, what would she say? What would her truest, from-her-heart answer
to him be?

She didn’t know.

Since junior high Katie had dreamed of being with Rick. When he actually asked her out nearly a year and a half ago, Katie
dared to believe her dream had come true. All she had ever wanted was to be Rick Doyle’s girlfriend. Now that that dream had
been fulfilled, marrying Rick was the next dream.

Only at this moment, with her head pounding, Katie didn’t feel ready for that dream. They were supposed to wait until she
finished college. That’s what they had agreed. All she had left were twelve weeks of classes. Twelve jam-packed weeks, then
her mind would be free to think about what was next and when and how and where she and Rick could get married.

She wasn’t ready to think about any of that now. Last year she watched her roommate and best friend, Christy, navigate her
final semester after she became engaged, and Katie knew she didn’t want to put that sort of pressure on herself. Not with
her demanding position as a resident assistant. Not with her class load this final semester. And especially not with this
horrible, reality-bending flu pressing her down with unrelenting force.

A knock sounded at her door.

“Go away! This is the yellow fever ward. You enter, you die.”

Rick, or whoever it was, disregarded her warning, opened the door slowly, and made quiet rustling noises.

Katie opened her eyes and turned her head toward the door.

“Eli?”

He held up a paper bag. “I bought you some stuff for your cold. I’ll leave it here on your dresser.”

“No, bring it here.” She held out her hand weakly, like a fallen elfin princess.

Eli didn’t hesitate. He walked across the room and pulled the bottle of medicine from the bag. “Have you taken this before?
You just open your mouth, point it at your throat, and spray three or four times.”

Katie took the bottle from him and dutifully followed his instructions. “Mmm. Wild cherry.” She gave herself another squirt.
“Thanks, Eli.”

He pulled a box of cold tablets from the bag. “With these, I think you’re supposed to take just one.” He scanned the back
of the box while opening the end. “Yeah, one every four hours. And don’t operate heavy machinery.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Katie took the pill from Eli and swallowed it, using two more squirts of the spray syrup instead
of water.

“Here.” Eli pulled the final item from the bag. A uniquely shaped bottle of drinking water.

“Hey, my favorite! How did you know I like New Zealand glacier water?”

“That’s all I’ve ever seen you buy at the gas station where Joseph works. I bought two bottles. Where do you want me to put
the other one?”

“On my desk next to the flowers. You might have to move them. They’re a bit much, don’t you think? I keep telling Rick he
overdoes it with the flowers. A single poppy. That’s what I tell him. Just a single poppy is all I need. Maybe you can talk
some sense into him.”

Eli didn’t comment. He turned toward Katie, and she smiled at him.

His wild, naturally curly brown hair had been growing out for the past few months and made him look more like the adventuresome
guy Katie had discovered he was. Earlier in the year he had kept his hair short, his conversations with her shorter, and in
general, seemed short. Short and strange in an out-of-place sort of way.

As Katie got to know Eli, she realized the only thing short about him was his name. Even that was longer than he let the general
public in on. Elisha James Lorenzo grew up on the mission field in Africa and kept a library of untold stories hidden inconspicuously
under his unassuming demeanor. Stories about prowling lions, hand-carved Masai spears, and dances around tribal fires. He
wore a drab gray uniform most of the time, as he was now. His campus security job meant he spent his working hours driving
a beat-up golf cart around the mesa on which Rancho Corona was built. Eli took the off hours no one else wanted.