A Soul Mate's Promise (13 page)

I’m-a-sorry. I really didn’t keep it from you, I just didn’t mention it.

I look up from Antonio and glance over at Sal. “What’s with the smug smile?”

Sal shakes his head. “I told him he was going to get busted one day.”

Raising my eyebrow I pace slowly over to the kitchen. We are on opposite sides of the counter and I lean in a little. “So you knew, too?”

He leaned toward me and our lips are only inches apart. “I knew the moment you told me you found a Germen Shepard on the beach, Princess. I know my dad. Don’t be mad–he did it with good intentions.” Sal leans all the way over and plants a very sweet kiss on my lips.

“I’m not mad I think I’m just shocked at the way I found this out. No more secrets deal?”

“Deal, mio caro,” Tony says softly.

Sal motioned for me to come into the kitchen. I did and he handed me a glass of wine, a nice woodsy Chardonnay.

“Mmm it smells great Sal.”

“Hungry?”

“Always,” I say with a smile and sip at my wine. I watch Sal move about the kitchen. I could watch him all day long.

“What’s the matter Princess?”

“Do you know how sexy it is to watch a man cook dinner for you?”

“No..not a clue. I’m not really into men…”

I made my way over to him and put my arms around him–he pulled me in tight. I sealed my mouth over his, the kiss is long and hard with purpose. His hands trailed up my back and into my hair. I’m lost in the rush of heat between us until Antonio clears his throat. We both jump apart.

“Don’t burn dinner, Casanova I’m-a-hungry too. You two need to go get mushy on-a-your own time and not in front of me. Capisce?”

I feel my cheeks turn red and I bury my face in Sal’s chest and laugh.

“Pop, go to the table. It’s done. We’re gonna eat now.”

*       *       *

After dinner Sal helps Gracie clean up, as he dries some pots, he turns to her. “Gracie, Halloween is this Saturday. What do you say we take the Beast and drive into St. Augustine for the weekend? I’ll bet Pop will take care of Toby for you.”

“That sounds like fun,” she croons. It’s a beautiful old city. I haven’t been there in years!”

“Good. We’ll leave about mid morning–it should take about two hours to drive there. I’ll go online and see about a hotel, okay?  Searching her face he knows what he’s looking for and she gives him a shy smile and a tiny nod. He exhales.

“You’re all right, then? You’re ready?” He asks as he reaches for her and takes her in his arms. “I love you Gracie, with all my heart and soul.”

His kiss tells every cell in her body that he’s telling the truth.

“I love you too, Sal. I am more than all right–, and I am
very
ready.”

CHAPTER 13

I can’t help but marvel at the glorious clear blue sky, even if the temperatures have dipped into the high 60’s. The perfect day for a drive along the A1A coast highway to St. Augustine.

The Beast gives a rough, but fun ride with the sun and air in my face and hair. Watching Sal’s strong hands on the steering wheel, I shiver. Those same hands make me feel special and safe and loved with every touch.

Once we wind our way past the Castillo de San Marco with it’s Spanish flags flying in the bay breeze, we’re only blocks from our destination. 

We arrive at the Casa Monica Hotel and Sal pulls into the underground valet parking driveway.

The young attendant is looking at the car with wide eyes and I wonder if he’s going to blurt out “voluptuous” and I keep my laugh to myself.

“Wow,” he says to Sal with reverence in his eyes, “is that a Viper?” Without waiting for Sal’s reply, he continues on. “I’ve heard about these cars but I’ve never actually seen one!”

Sal gets out and hands him the keys. “Well, now you get to drive one. Keep her safe for me.”

“Yes sir, not a problem.” He hands Sal the claim check, waits while I remove our duffle bag from the back, and carefully drives away.

We enter the hotel through the valet side of the lobby and we’re transported to the days when hotels were rich and elegant.  The huge, dark mahogany registration desk is off to the right and all around us are high-ceilinged walls displaying oil paintings that are taller than Sal is.

As Sal checks us in, I look around, still thinking I should pinch myself at the change my life has taken. To the left is an old-time bar and elegant restaurant.

Key in hand, Sal collects me from my wandering and we ride the elevator to our room which is as luxurious as the lobby. A suite with a king size bed, and a Jacuzzi tub off to the side, we’ve got a balcony view of the bay and the Bridge of Lions. He puts the duffel bag on the luggage stand and turns to me.

“What would you like to do first, Princess?”

I spin around in a circle, arms spread wide. When I stop, I give him a grin. “I’m hungry! Let’s go out and walk St. George Street and take in the sites–get some lunch or maybe do a food crawl!”

He shakes his head and chuckles. “Hungry”, he mumbles, looking up at the ceiling and rolling his eyes. “She’s always hungry. Okay, lets get you some food.” His big sigh makes me laugh even more.

As we walk hand in hand along St. George Street, we look into some of the shop windows, though I resist the fudge shop which smells insanely good.

Being a famous “ghost” city, and this being Halloween weekend, it’s fun to watch all the people in costumes walking about as though it’s nothing special. The shops with all sorts of decorations are festive, too. We decide on an early dinner at a restaurant called The Columbia House.

“Now what, Princess?” Sal asks as we come out of the cool alcove of the restaurant. I point to a booth on the corner opposite where we’re standing.

“How about we get in on that walking ghost tour? Should be fun!”

He nods, gives me slight bow, and I take his arm as we walk across Hypolito Street. We make our reservation for the eight o’clock tour, but it’s only seven, so we spot a bench on the opposite corner and deposit ourselves there.

Sal spots a sign in a shop announcing they serve gelato and he points at it “Would you like a Gelatto?” I look at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Of
course
I would,” I say with a giggle.

“Yeah, what was I thinking? Any particular flavor?”

I tilt my head and gaze into his eyes which are sparkling with fun. “Surprise me.”

Sal disappears to place our order. While I’m sitting there I notice a group of people sitting at small tables. Some are dressed in Gypsy costumes, some are in everyday clothes. The sign above them says, PSYCHIC READINGS.

I get up from the bench and look in the window of the ice cream pallor–Sal is fourth in line. I glance again at the psychics and see a young girl just sitting quietly. She smiles at me and I smile back. She waves me over so I walk over to her.

We shake hands. “Hi,” she says, “my name is Yvette. Would you like your cards read?”

I hesitate for a second, but then something felt so right about her that I plunked down in the chair. “I’m Gracie. Nice to meet you. Okay, let’s do this.”

She hands me a deck of cards with funny pictures on them and tells me to shuffle them good. I follow the directions and hand them back to her. She proceeds to spread them out on the table.

“These are tarot cards,” she points out, “have you ever done this before?”

I nod with a slight smile. “Once. But, it was a long time ago at a party. I don’t think the girl was very good–she could not get a true reading on me and she didn’t know why.”

Yvette keeps placing the cards on the table. She stares at the cards for a minute or two, cocking her head from side to side, her brows knitted in a frown. She looks steadily at me. “You have been here before.”

Well, that was a lucky guess…
“Yes, but it has been a few years,” I tell her. “I
love
St. Augustine.”

“No,” she chuckles, “your
Soul
has been here before, many times as a matter of fact. You keep coming back. You’re what is called an
old soul
.”

I look at her and wrinkle my nose. “What, like I have past lives?”

Her laugh is soft. “Yes, your cards are amazing. It takes someone really experienced to read these. Will you excuse me for a moment? I’d like to get my grandmother, she can read these
and
you better then I can. This is something really special. I’ll be right back.”

Yvette leaves me at her little table and I stare at the tarot cards wondering what the fuss is all about. Sal walks over to me and hands me a cup with my gelato.

“Hey, what’s going here?” he asks around a mouthful of cold delight.

“Well, I saw these psychics doing readings and I thought what the hell. Yvette went to get her grandmother to help her read my cards. She said I’m special.” I smile and raise my eyebrows up and down.

“You
are
special,” he replies with a wink. “Try your gelato, it’s a seasonal flavor.”

“Ohh, it’s pumpkin!” I moan in surprise. This is great! It taste’s just like pumpkin pie!”

He executes his signature bow. “I knew you would like it.”

Just then, Yvette returns with her grandmother. The old woman is a little shorter than Yvette, has wavy salt and pepper hair and looks to be seventy-five to eighty years old. Her striking emerald-green eyes are piercing. She comes to me and gently takes my hand. “I’m Amina and I’m seventy eight.”

I gasp. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

She cuts me off with a wave of her hand and laughs. “Just a little psychic joke, honey. When you’re old everyone wonders about age. That wasn’t mind reading, that’s just knowing people, but it gets them every time.”

“Whoa! That was freaky.” I look at Sal and we both laugh.

“So, my granddaughter here says you’re an old soul and you have amazing cards. She asked me for some help reading you. Is this agreeable with you?”

I nod and place my folded hands on the table.

She takes a seat and studies the cards, then asks me to pick them up, shuffle again and hand them back to her.

With a slight smile on her mouth, she stares at me and then Sal, as I do as she asked. I hand her the deck and once again my cards are spread out on the little table. She studies them again for what seemed to be a long time.

She lets out a long breath, then taps the table with her long fingers. “Okay Gracie.  My granddaughter is correct. You are an old soul and you have been here many times. Something in your past lives has gone terribly wrong and you keep coming back. In one of your lives, you took your own life–you were that distraught. Also, you were once murdered. Tell me,” she says, pointing to Sal. “Is he your husband?”

For a minute or two I’m frozen by her words Suicide…murder? Unable to speak, I shake my head. Finally I stammer, “N-n-no he’s my boyfriend.”

She reaches over and takes my hand, then offers her other hand to Sal. Sal looks at her like she’s a little crazy.

She gives him a warm smile. “Humor me, please?”

Sal complies and the old woman closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

We sit like that for a long moment. “The both of you are old souls. You have been in love with each other many times. You are
soul mates
. But something always tears you apart. You have found each other again, in this life, and believe me it’s no accident–you are destined to be together.

“Now, just because bad things have happened in your past lives does not mean they will happen again. You can change your future, but be aware of some forces around you that can–and will–try to pull you apart.”

Sal lets go of her hand like it’s too hot to hold. He looks at the old woman with concern. “Please forgive me, but this is a little too crazy. Gracie,” he turns to me, “I don’t think you should listen to this. It might give you more nightmares.”

The woman’s eyes focus on me. Her tone is sharp like this is something I have to get. “Have you had dreams of your past lives Gracie?”

“Well, I didn’t know that’s what they were, but I’d say yes. On and off since I first met Sal.”

The old woman give me a tiny nod. “He triggered them for you. You are probably a little psychic as well, but you’ve never developed it. So, only when you sleep, the subconscious mind comes awake and shows you.”

Sal takes my hand from Amina. “I was with her one night when she had one. It totally wrecked her. She was hyperventilating and shaking in fear. I’m begging you both,
please
stop talking about this.”

I turn to Sal and put my hand on his face. “I need to know this. I think it will help. I sensed those dreams were not just dreams, and I knew from the first moment our eyes met there was something familiar about you. You said the same about me. If I understand this, maybe the dreams will stop. Please let her finish.”

He looks at me, searches my face for something he must see. He leans over and kisses my forehead before he sits down again.

I look at Amina. “Please continue.”

“Very well. Listen, both of you. Souls find one another through each life, most of the time it’s the same people we know now. Some are new and come and go. Be aware of some surrounding you–they can cause you harm. Your future is not a fixed or definitive outcome–there are no endings or absolutes. We all can change things. That’s why we keep coming back. You two are in love and that emotion is one of the strongest–as are revenge and pain. Gracie, don’t be afraid of your past lives. When and if you dream again, try to remember it is a vision and cannot hurt you. Awaken your deep connection to your spirit and soul–it will guide you. The both of you are together now so stay that way. It
is
your destiny. You have been together for centuries and there was much heartbreak and sadness. Try not to repeat the past. Stay together always.”

I thank her for her help and Sal pays her for her time. As we get up and start to leave, Amina stops us.

“Wait! Good luck, both of you. True love is hard to find and you have found it.” She comes and gives me a hug and hands me a card with her number on it. “He will always protect you, it is in his nature”. She reaches a hand to my shoulder and with her concerned green eyes tells me to call her anytime if I have any questions.

“God Bless you both.”

Shaken, but committed, Sal and I cross back to the booth to join up with our ghost walk. They parade us up and down the streets of St. Augustine and through two cemeteries. The story of the star-crossed lovers that still haunt the sea wall touches me in a special way. 

The entertaining guide, dressed in eighteenth century garb, tells story after story about ghosts woven into the history of the old city. What a terrific way to spend Halloween.

On our way back to our hotel we pass a candle shop with an open door. The scent of the candles wafts out to the sidewalk. I peek in and there is an older gentleman making thin tapers by hand. He waves at us and I wave back. Sal points in the air. “He’s listening to one of Pop’s favorites.”

“Sure is. Andrea Bocelli. This song is one of
my
favorites as well.
A Time to Say Goodbye
.”

We hang out there on the sidewalk listening for a moment. “This song is hauntingly beautiful,” I whisper, standing there with my eyes closed, feeling the music.

Sal wraps his arms around me and we look into each other’s eyes. Time seems to slow as he kisses me tenderly and whispers, “
You’re
hauntingly beautiful.”

*       *       *